AGRICULTURE MINISTER CHARLIE McConalogue has said practices uncovered in an RTÉ Investigates report on the dairy industry are “utterly unacceptable, and in some instances unlawful”.
RTÉ Investigates looked at the surge of calves bred in Ireland as a result of the abolition of dairy quotas in 2015. “But we cannot – and should not – tolerate a situation in which hundreds and thousands of calves are being bred to suffer from the moment of birth. “As a country, we have always been so proud of our agricultural sector. In fact, it is the perception of Irish agriculture abroad that makes the sector so valuable.
“The Dáil cannot simply close its eyes to what was revealed by RTÉ last night. It must discuss the treatment of calves in the dairy sector before the summer recess,” Murphy said in a statement.