Vol. 561 No. 3
73 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he has plans to establish a task force to engage with all farming organisations and other interested parties such as consumer groups, food industry representatives and rural organisations to consider the future of Irish farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3857/03]
The Agri-Food 2010 Committee which I set up was comprised of representatives from the agri-food sector, the farm organisations, the Western Development Commission, the Office of Consumer Affairs, trade unions and farmers. The committee provided a comprehensive report on the future of Irish farming.
In view of the current WTO round and the mid-term review of the CAP and the possible consequences that these may have for agriculture, I have been considering revisiting the agri-food 2010 plan of action later in the year. While issues such as the CAP and WTO were taken into account by the original 2010 report, future developments in these areas will have to be analysed and their likely implications for the agri-food sector assessed.
