Tipperary farming: Minister Creed urged to work to increase lairage at Cherbourg

An additional 600 calves could be delivered within days to a new lairage at Cherbourg with some co-operation from the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed and the French authorities, according to IFA president Joe Healy.

He was speaking following a visit to the Pignet lairage at the Normandy port.

Mr Healy said that Minister Creed must request the French authorities to approve an extension which would to add this extra capacity in Cherbourg.

With the additional 400 places announced late last week, it could increase capacity by 3,000 per week over three sailings, to 15,000 calves per week, he said.

Minister Creed must also allow the use, permitted in previous years, of the facility at Abbeville which can act as an overflow lairage in light of the backlog caused by the exceptional bad sailing weather. Mr Healy said that this could accommodate 5,000 calves.

“The Minister told everyone that the ferry companies would sail in alternate days, but he was wrong and now we have a capacity problem in Cherbourg,” he said

Over 400 places came on stream in Cherbourg late last week, and IFA said that another lairage could potentially create another 600 places if approved by the French authorities.  Minister Creed must engage with the French authorities to make this happen.