asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the programme of activities and information he is preparing to equip our agricultural industry for 1992.
Written Answers. - Programme of Information for Agriculture.
18.
As the Deputy will be aware, most barriers to intra-Community trade in farm products of interest to Ireland have already been eliminated under the Common Agricultural Policy and the harmonisation measures adopted down through the years. Nevertheless, the completion of the single market will have implications for the agriculture and food sectors in particular in regard to the re-establishment of common support price levels and the further harmonisation of veterinary, phytosanitary and foodstuffs regulations. In addition, many of the horizontal proposals for completion of the single market and the cohesion measures will impact on these sectors. I might add that the Commission has not yet made detailed proposals in a significant number of areas affecting agriculture and food.
The Government have decided to launch a campaign in the near future to alert the economic sectors to the implications of the 1992 deadline for completion of the single market. The launch will be attended by business, agriculture and other leaders. The Government envisage that the campaign will be conducted primarily through the representative and sectoral bodies in the commercial and other sectors and the relevant State agencies subject to co-ordination by a joint public-private sector committee established for that purpose.
I will be arranging that the relevant State agencies will co-operate fully with the representative and vocational bodies in the agriculture and food sectors in order to ensure that they are made fully aware of relevant developments and that they are equipped both to face the challenges posed by the completion of the single market and to exploit the opportunities it will present.