Green Party Senator Róisín Garvey has said animal husbandry and the “exporting of thousands and thousands of calves” represent a huge issue in Irish agriculture.

The comments come on the back of recommendations from the European Food Safety Authority which proposes a significant tightening of the regulations, prohibiting the transport of unweaned calves under 35 days of age.

Green Party MEPs Grace O’Sullivan and Ciarán Cuffe both voted in favour of the proposals.

Grace O’Sullivan said at the National Ploughing Championships this week that there “are issues here in Ireland” in relation to animal welfare.

“We are here engaging with farmers. Our intention will always be to listen to farmers and work with farmers,” O’Sullivan added.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Senator Garvey said farmers are going to have to follow the EU rules.

“If they’re happy to take the payments from Europe, they’re going to also have to be happy to embrace whatever we are told by Europe when it comes to taking care of our animals.

“We are all about rural Ireland. The reason I joined the Green Party was I found that their policies were actually very good for rural Ireland,” she said.

Deputy leader of the Green Party Catherine Martin said: “We are about working with the farmers; we want rural Ireland to work.

“I think the farmers are the key to tackling climate action and biodiversity. We want to work and collaborate and more importantly support them in what needs to be done.

“We are committed to the ACRES scheme. It’s €1.3bn to financially support farmers to sequester carbon, to protect habitats, to improve water quality, the European Innovation Programme, EU life, what Minister Hackett is proposing on organic farming.”

The Green Party, she said, is committed to rural Ireland, adding: “I think we are achieving that in Government.