Vol. 456 No. 7
126 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the discussions, if any, his officials have had with the Department of Finance in relation to the serious situation being encountered by exporters of food products to Britain due to the strength of the punt against sterling. [14455/95]
127 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry his response to requests from the ICMSA and ICOS for the establishment of an emergency fund for agricultural exporters suffering from the punt's rise in value against sterling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14558/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 127 together.
The appropriate response to the rise in the value of the Irish punt in relation to sterling is to improve competitiveness and to intensify marketing, both in the United Kingdom and in other markets. In this regard there is generous financial assistance available to the food industry under the Structural Fund food sub-programme.
I am keeping under close review the resources provided under the appropriate headings of the food sub-programme to ensure that they are adequate for this purpose and, if necessary, and subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance, will consider augmenting these resources by transfers of resources from other headings within the Sub-Programme.
