Horticulture Sector
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Robert O'Donoghue (LAB), Dublin Fingal West

Horticulture is under enormous pressure. We are facing some of the most serious challenges we have seen in years, including increased input costs, energy costs and labour costs. We are still importing fruit and vegetables that we could grow ourselves. I live in north County Dublin, the market garden capital of Ireland. We produce approximately 47% of Ireland's field vegetables. We need to keep supporting the sector. We cannot allow it to shrink further. There are huge opportunities in horticulture; we just need to unlock them.
I know first-hand the hard work involved in growing. I picked and packed every fruit and vegetable under the sun in Rush and Lusk. Many of the 18,000 jobs the Minister of State mentioned are in my constituency in north County Dublin. If we are serious about food security, rural employment and supporting Irish growers, then we must give the horticulture sector the support it needs and deserves in order for it to survive and thrive.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09