A meeting will take place this evening (Saturday, August 15) in the Athlone Springs Hotel in Co. Roscommon on the challenges in the live export sector following the decision of Brittany Ferries to exit the trade.

The meeting is organised by Independent Ireland, with live exporters, their representatives, and farm organisations all set to be in attendance.

The meeting is set to kick off at 7:30p.m.

It will be hosted by two Independent Ireland members: MEP Ciaran Mullooly; and TD Michael Fitzmaurice.

Speaking to Agriland ahead of the meeting, Mullooly said: "This is an important meeting...because we know there is a specific problem now.

"With Brittany Ferries saying they're pulling out of the market, it is a fact that we will not have the capacity we need to continue to export calves and weanlings at the rate we have, particularly next February, March and April, when the key focus will be on calves," he added.

"I think all sides of the industry are going to have to work together to resolve this problem," the MEP said.

According to Mullooly, there are three key issues to be covered at tonight's meeting.

The first concerns the recent meeting both Mullooly and Fitzmaurice had with Brittany Ferries' management.

The MEP said that tonight's meeting will hear a full breakdown of the engagement with the ferry operator.

"Michael Fitzmaurice and I spent in the region of an hour speaking to Christophe Mathieu, the chief executive. We’re going to give the meeting a full account of what he said, a breakdown, basically, of the issues," Mullooly said.

He added that, according to the Brittany Ferries boss, the key issue for the company is security and the lack of safety for its staff on the boats, particularly at the port of Portsmouth in the UK, due to protests by animal rights activists.

However, Mullooly also said that Brittany Ferries' management indicated the possibility of resuming livestock trade if the right circumstances are in place for the security of their staff.

The second issue that is set to be raised at the Athlone meeting is the role Irish Ferries - the last remaining company transporting livestock from Ireland - can play in easing the impact left by the gap of Brittany Ferries.

Mullooly said: "Obviously, there's a possibility they would take up some of the slack in this situation. Would they take up more? Would they invest in another boat?"

The third issue, he said, is on the possibility of another player, apart from Brittany Ferries or Irish Ferries, entering the market.

"We do know there are other independent vessels being used for live animal export very successfully. So we're going to try and tease out what role, if any, they would have going forward," he said.

Support

However, no matter what possible solutions arise, Mullooly said that the support of farmers and the live export sector in Ireland will be required.

He told Agriland: "No matter which solution we come up with, and which plan we try and put in place, we're not going to be successful unless we have the support of farmers and livestock exporters.

"Whoever takes over the business will want to be able to turn around and say they will provide this service on the basis of getting support," he added.

"So we have to know a true barometer [of] what sort of support is there for the proposals going forward," the MEP said.