Vol. 548 No. 4
60 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the progress to date in the implementation of the national development plan programme for the development of the food industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4270/02]
The National Development Plan 2000-2006 contains indicative public funding of €358 million for a full range of support measures for the food industry. The provisions have been designed specifically to enhance the industry's competitiveness and innovative capability while at the same time ensuring that development is underpinned by attention to food safety and consumer demands.
The package which on full implementation is expected to help increase sales by €2.6 billion by the end of 2006 represents a comprehensive response to the development needs of the industry as identified by the Food Industry Development Group and the Agri Food 2010 Committee.
The initiatives are being administered by my Department and the development agencies. The funding is being utilised as follows:
Capital Investment –€152 million. In-Company Research –€36 million. Institutional Research –€70 million. Marketing and Promotion –€61 million. Human Resource Development –€39 million. All of the measures became fully operational in 2001. Approvals and expenditure under the measures are broadly on target. Up to the end of 2001, almost €67 million had been awarded under the various measures with further awards across all measures planned for the first quarter of 2002 and throughout the period of the plan.
