Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has said he strongly condemns the "shocking practices" revealed on the RTÉ Investigates programme on Monday night.

"They were certainly not reflective of the work that farmers put in to managing their farm enterprises responsibly. Farmers care for their animals and would never want to see them mistreated," he said.

"As minister, I have worked with stakeholders on a range of measures to improve calf welfare, and farmers and the industry are embracing these measures," he continued.

"The footage shown by RTÉ represents the actions of a few. What we saw was utterly unacceptable, and in some instances was unlawful," the minister added.

"My department has requested RTÉ provide it with all of the footage available, and any other information it has, so that it can investigate the matter fully and take appropriate action.”

The RTÉ Investigates programme detailed multiple breaches of animal welfare rules on calf handling, transport of calves and required rest and feed stops for calves being exported.

More to follow.