Since the beginning of the year, my Department has approved four additional dedicated cattle ships and a roll-on/roll-off vessel for the carriage of livestock. All of the dedicated ships have been approved for transporting cattle to the Continent while two are approved for markets further afield such as the Lebanon. This brings the total number of approved dedicated ships approved for the export of cattle to 17 and the number of approved ro-ro vessels to three.
It is clear from this that everything possible has been done to facilitate the carriage of livestock to our markets in Europe and the Middle East. During 1999 there has been a record level of exports and a record level of carrying capacity and every reasonable request as regards inspections and improving capacity has been facilitated.