I wish to continue on the issues raised by Senator Daly regarding the "Prime Time" programme last night. It exposed shortcomings in animal welfare but, ultimately, the majority of farmers are compliant. I wish to draw the Government's attention to its commitment in the programme for Government. I believe it is on page 69 because I quoted extensively from it earlier today. It suggests that veterinary surgeons would travel with animals outside of the EU. Quite frankly I do not believe this needs highly paid and highly qualified veterinary surgeons. I believe we need veterinary technicians. I have made a strong case for veterinary technicians. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is fiercely committed to animal welfare and has published an animal welfare strategy. We discussed this at the agriculture committee.

I will spend the remainder of my time thanking RTÉ. There is a great deal of criticism about RTÉ but one of the great things about RTÉ is its current affairs programmes, including "Prime Time" and "RTÉ Investigates" and its journalists, who do a great job and always have done, particularly in current affairs, public life and scrutiny. I am reminded of the programme "Prime Time" last night.

Hear, hear.

I was thinking about the journalists when I saw them doing their exposé last night and doing investigative journalism really well. I think of the institutional abuses, the sex abuse in institutions, the over-the-counter pharmacy shown on "Prime Time", the shortcomings of the Dental Council of Ireland and the Medical Council of Ireland. It has continued to advocate and shine a light on real issues that we tend to come in here the next day and raise under Commencement matters. Fair play to RTÉ and to its journalists. The "Prime Time" journalists are exemplary in public broadcasting. They are everything that is good about public broadcasting and RTÉ.

Finally, I wish RTÉ and its new director general well as it begins to turn a corner because we need it and it needs us. It does a service for the citizens of which it can be truly proud.

I want to touch on the “RTÉ Investigates” programme broadcast last night and to put my views on it on the record. First, I totally condemn the treatment of those animals, particularly the transportation. There are laws that set out very strict criteria. If those laws were broken - and I believe they were from viewing the footage - there should be consequences. We have put legislation and regulations in place to make sure this does not happen but it has happened and something needs to be done about it.

Yet, as much as last night’s footage was really hard to watch, I believe there was no footage from any family farm in Ireland or any farm in Ireland. I am a dairy farmer. I farm at home with my mother, who is 74 years of age, and my wife. I milked cows with my two daughters last weekend. We are a traditional dairy farm. This is what we do for a living.

We use sexed semen on our farm. We will have no Friesian bull calf next year. This is how the industry is moving and it is moving very quickly. The issue is that 9% of the calf population that is exported is the Friesian bull calf. That is being dealt with by technology and farmers who are working really hard to move ahead of this curve. In many ways, they have moved ahead of it. Three years ago, the story was about the transportation of calves. Next year, the story will be about how sexed semen has changed this industry and how there has been a dramatic change in it.

I feel for the dairy farmer today. I feel for a farmer who works so hard. When calves are born, they are fed colostrum within two hours of the birth. That happens whether it is Christmas night or 10 o'clock in the morning. It does not matter. That is what happens on a dairy farm every day of the year regarding the care that is given to the animals. I would hate for the dairy farmer to be pigeonholed today as some kind of animal terrorist. If anything, they are ahead of the curve when it comes technology and they are doing so much to make sure that the footage we have seen last night does not happen.

I would welcome debate in these Houses because I believe the story should be told. I am really passionate about this, a Chathaoirligh, and I apologise for speaking over my time.

I thank the Senator.

I just feel we need to tell the story about the amount of work that the family farms do.

I thank the Senator. I welcome Deputy Mairéad Farrell and her guests to the Gallery today. They are very welcome to Leinster House and I hope they have a very good visit. I thank the Deputy for being here.