I thank Deputy Berry and congratulate him on his election. I have not had the opportunity to wish him well. I know he has a strong interest in agriculture. The programme for Government includes a commitment to: Ensure fairness, equity, and transparency in the food chain by establishing a new authority called the National Food Ombudsman (NFO) to enforce the Unfair Trading Practices Directive. This new authority will enforce EU wide rules on prohibited unfair trading practices in the food supply chain and will have p…

I thank Deputy Berry. I look forward to working with him and with his ideas about how we can make sure that the new food ombudsman is as effective as possible in achieving its objective. I will engage comprehensively with farmer representative organisations too because I know they have been advocating for this new office for a significant period. We will look at how we can make sure the office is independent and has the remit to ensure it can carry out the role of bringing transparency and confidence to the system.…

The objective of the beef exceptional aid measure was to provide temporary exceptional adjustment aid to farmers in the beef sector in Ireland subject to the conditions set out in the European Commission implementing regulation.  This aid was granted to provide temporary market adjustment support in response to a specific market disturbance as outlined in Ireland's notification to the European Commission.  As part of the notification and approval process for the measure, the 5% reduction was part of the conditional…

I thank Deputy McNamara for his contribution. I assure him that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with me and the Ministers of State, Deputy Heydon and Senator Hackett, will work to get the best possible return for farmers and their work. We will work with State agencies and all in the sector to ensure that is the case. That is why we are taking the initiative with regard to the food ombudsman and why I think there is merit in developing a PGI. It is important that it is done in a co-ordinated way …

It has tremendous merit. It is important that we work with everybody, especially farmer representatives, to ensure it is something everybody can get behind.

I assure the Deputy that the objective of this PGI is to try to improve the lot of farmers and to ensure that we market, develop and make the most of the tremendous product we have, and that we can help to sell that message to consumers through the PGI. We aim not only to increase the volume that we sell but also the value of what we sell. We should ensure that it is followed through on with marketing afterwards. The key objective of the national food ombudsman, which contributes to the point the Deputy has made, i…

I thank Deputy Carthy. There are a number of questions in that one question. I will certainly do my best to address them. My Department is contributing to the whole-of-Government response to managing outbreaks of Covid-19 in food plants. In the context of Covid-19, human health must be the absolute priority for all of us, and therefore it is vitally important that all our decisions and actions are led by public health advice. My Department is participating in the HSE-chaired national standing committee on high risk…

I am aware of the concerns regularly expressed by the farming community and also with the issues around Covid recently. The Deputy will know that in advance of the last election I put forward the policy for a national food ombudsman to address some of those issues. It is included in the programme for Government. Other parties, including the Deputy's, did not have any suggestions in that regard on how to address that issue. I look forward to any ideas Deputy Carthy has, along with all the farming organisations, to t…

I have no doubt that Deputy Carthy likes to put forward the narrative that this would be the case in the future. As I have said to him in response to numerous questions, as the Minister I will be respecting everyone in the food supply chain and all stakeholders, and in particular the primacy of the primary producers who have not had a fair crack in relation to transparency or the margins they get, and will be doing the best in that regard. We must respect everyone, but we also must hold everyone to account. That ha…

------this is essential. This is why I have moved to working with the ESRI. Every industry, including the beef sector, has to work within the law and within the terms and conditions that are there. I am aware that issues have been raised in how lessons may be learned in that regard. This is why I seek the study and assessment as to what conditions are and how they might be improved. Working with other Departments we will take that forward. As the Deputy knows well, the immediate priority is ensuring that conditions…

I thank the Deputy for the question. Many of the issues raised by the Deputy at that time, and raised by me and many other Deputies, have fallen under the remit of the beef task force. The beef task force was established in September 2019 and it provides a very constructive forum for detailed engagement on key issues facing the beef sector. It is particularly important in progressing the commitments made by all stakeholders in the beef sector agreement last September. It is independently chaired, and includes repre…

Obviously market research is very important in terms of assessing what consumers are looking for and what resonates with them. We must take that into account and I know that Bord Bia has done significant research in that regard. It is really important that PGI status has the support of all stakeholders and that everybody gets behind it, including farmers, the industry and our marketing agencies. We must get behind it and make sure it is supported in terms of advertising so that it can be a success. My objective is …

Coming from Inishowen in Donegal I know, no more than anyone else, that our suckler beef is tremendous. Our objective must be to ensure that our high quality beef gets the best price possible and is marketed well abroad. This is important and is something that I have raised with Bord Bia in the past. It is an issue that Bord Bia very much recognises too. It is important to assess the market and where consumers are at, and feed that into how we frame the PGI status application. We must take all the evidence on board…

The Strategy for the Inshore Fisheries Sector 2019-2023 is an industry-led strategy, the first of its kind for the Irish inshore fisheries sector. The national inshore fisheries forum finalised the strategy at the start of last year, following what I understand was an extensive development process that also involved the six regional inshore fisheries forums and a steering group with industry and State partners. Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM, is leading the implementation of the strategy, in partnership with the national…

The important thing to note is that the implementation of the agreed priorities under the strategy has been continuing and it is crucial that it continues. It will certainly be important that a meeting be held promptly to follow on from and to co-ordinate that. It is a very welcome approach. It has been greatly welcomed by the inshore fishermen that this is being led by themselves and that they have had such a stakeholder and leadership role. I take the Deputy’s point that a meeting would be useful in the near futu…

It certainly will be a priority of mine to meet with them and I have engaged with them previously. The approach they have taken in terms of leading this strategy has been a credit to themselves and it is important that it bears fruit. It is important to the Government and to me, as Minister, that the important contribution they make to our economy is recognised and that jobs in the inshore fisheries sector are supported. As Minister with responsibility for the marine, that is something I will do and I look forward …

Yes, if they are on the same issue, I will deal with them.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 122 together. I thank Deputy Browne for his question and congratulate him on his recent election. Herd test history statements and reports are issued to all cattle herdowners with the aim of helping them to reduce the risk of bovine TB in cattle herds. The bovine TB forum interim report identified the need to provide more effective information to farmers to help them reduce the risk of TB in their herd and advocated for the development of herd risk categories that are “simpl…

Regarding the background to it, as I outlined, the interim report of the TB forum was important in that regard. That report advocated the development of herd risk categories that are simple, clear and convey sufficient information to enable farmers to make decisions appropriate to their situation. I know farmers have expressed concern about the letters. All of us can unite on the fact that we must address the issue of figures for positive incidences of TB increasing and going in the wrong direction. The people who …

There are not many coming forward with the answers, but we need answers. That is why I am calling a meeting of the TB forum. Nobody suffers more than farmers when herds are restricted. Farmers experience stress when they are facing a test, particularly if they have gone down in the test in recent times. There is also the cost impact on them. It is incumbent on all of us in the Oireachtas and on the farming stakeholders and primary representative organisations to work together to turn the dial in the other direction…