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The IFA is hoping to secure an increase in the daily 4,000-head capacity at lairages in Cherbourg, the association’s livestock chair Angus Woods told the Irish Farmers Journal during a trip to France with his dairy counterpart Tom Phelan on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We’re meeting the two owners of lairages to discuss how we can maximise capacity in the coming months,” he said. The farmer representatives will also meet French veterinary officials and port authorities.
“We’re confident now that we will have capacity to export in the region of 80,000 calves a month,” Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed told the Irish Farmers Journal, confirming last week’s Department announcement that increased shipping volume would be in place for the peak calf export season.
“The Department told us that from 20 March, the ferry would run on alternate days. They haven’t said otherwise since,” Woods confirmed.
This has been met with scepticism among some live exporters, as Irish Ferries continues to advertise bookings on its winter schedule until the end of May. Unless spring sailings are rescheduled, Irish Ferries’ WB Yeats will be competing with Stena Line’ Horizon for access to French lairages on the same days of the week, limiting monthly capacity to 48,000 calves.
Irish Ferries and the Department have not replied to requests from the Irish Farmers Journal to clarify the differences in the information they have given on ferry sailings.
Leverage
State authorities are understood to hold considerable leverage over Irish Continental Group (ICG), the parent company of Irish Ferries, which has received €155m in taxpayer-backed finance covering half of its investment in new ships.
ICG secured a €75m loan subsidised by the EU’s European Investment Bank for the WB Yeats and a further €80m similar loan for a cruise ferry under construction, the largest in the world, due to enter service in 2020.
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