Vol. 533 No. 5
24 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when he will launch the new national development plan for food; the essential elements of the new plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9127/01]
Under the National Development Plan, the food industry has been given an indicative public funding allocation of £282 million for the period 2000-06. This funding will be used to finance the following four measures: capital investment, £120 million; research and development, £83 million; promotion and market development, £48 million; and human resources, £31 million.
These measures, which will be administered, as appropriate, by my Department, An Bord Bia and the Industrial Development Agencies, represent a comprehensive response to the development needs of the industry as identified by the food industry development group and the AgriFood 2010 Committee. In particular, they are aimed at enhancing the industry's competitiveness and innovative capability while at the same time helping to ensure that development is underpinned by attention to food safety and quality issues. The measures will also assist the industry in addressing problems resulting from the foot and mouth outbreak.
I had planned that the measures would be formally launched within a few weeks. However, as I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, because of the foot and mouth outbreak and the fact that the proposed launch would involve bringing together a significant number of persons from the high risk agribusiness sector, I have decided to postpone it for the time being. Meanwhile, all the main elements of the measures have been brought into operation.
