Vol. 730 No. 1
28 Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, having regard to the targets in Food Harvest 2020, the marketing strategies being planned to expand market share in existing markets and to establish a foothold in new markets. [7697/11]
As the Deputy recognised, Food Harvest 2020 sets out an ambitious roadmap and targets for the Irish food and drinks industry over the next decade. This is being driven by the high level implementation group, which I chair, and by a number of activation groups.
With regard to expanding Ireland's share in existing markets, Bord Bia is implementing or planning to implement a number of key initiatives. These include an expansion of the successful marketing fellowship programme with 30 executives undertaking more than 100 commercial assignments for 80 food and drink exporting companies in 13 overseas markets. I have met a number of people working on that fellow programme and it is very impressive. A reinvigorated Irish beef promotion in continental Europe with specific focus on the German market is under way and gaining success. We lost our market in Germany a number of years ago, as a result of the incidence of BSE, to South American suppliers of beef, but we are winning back that market. The growth of our market in Germany is impressive and it has the capacity to grow significantly. We are maximising the achievement of Carbon Trust accreditation linked to the Board Bia beef quality assurance scheme and are arranging the participation of Irish exporting companies in more than 20 international trade fairs.
I have spent some time since becoming Minister with Bord Bia in Spain and France and it is doing a good job at selling the quality of Irish food production. I am confident we will have strategies in place not only to expand European markets in terms of food exports but markets outside of the European Union. The Deputies opposite will find that I will be very proactive in this area. If we are to create the kind of good news story around the agrifood sector that Food Harvest 2020 can provide, we need to be proactive and aggressive at marketing Ireland as the best country in the world to produce high quality food that is environmentally friendly in terms of its carbon footprint, animal husbandry standards and the quality of food itself. We can do all of that very successfully with the agencies we have available to us.
I take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, on their appointments and wish them well inoffice.
I noted the points the Minister made in his reply but this reply and the reply to Question No. 26 seem to be inextricably linked. The difficulty with the marketing strategy particularly in the dairy sector is that it will be 2014 before full tilt production in that sector is achieved. It will be difficult to plan a marketing strategy on the basis that certain volumes of dairy product will be available to export to Asia, China or wherever. We are all pleased that China has been mentioned as a target area for Bord Bia and other agencies that might be working in thatarea.
There is a difficulty in this area having regard to production levels and the constraints on foot of the superlevy regime we have in place. I noted the points the Minister made in response to Deputy Moynihan. Having regard to the responses given and the indications that production levels in other member states in the Community are way below what their national quotas allow, I dare say that will give some hope to an industry that is chomping at the bit to move on in terms of increased production. There is a potential to create national wealth in an industry that perhaps has not performed up to the level it could previously, but with expansion there is the potential to do that. With the dichotomy that exists between constraints on production vis-à-vis the marketing of a product, the sector may not be able to fulfil the deliveries.
I agree with much of what the Deputy said. The 2008 health check, which put the current superlevy system in place, was signed up to by the previous Government. I concede that everyone in this House recognises that we need to get more flexibility as 2015 approaches, and we will be trying to do that. Currently, the marketing campaign around food expansion in the dairy sector in this country must be based on the existing superlevy scheme until we can change it. We cannot plan to market food that will not be produced. Until there is a political solution that allows this country the flexibility to grow its dairy industry pre-2015 then we must plan our food harvest strategy on a significant expansion post-2015 and a limited expansion in terms of dairy volumes pre-2015. I would be the first to launch a new marketing strategy for increased dairy output pre-2015 if we could get a deal done politically on that. We are not there yet, however, so let us not pretend we are. In the meantime we must consider growth and expansion in other sectors that apply to Food Harvest 2020, for example, in the pig, chicken, beef and lamb sectors and other sectors that can grow and expand in terms of food output because they are not restricted by a quota system.
29 Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food his views on the role that agriculture and the agrifood sector can play in Ireland’s economic recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7714/11]
I thank my colleague for raising the question. We are very lucky in this party that we have a number of Deputies with significant experience in the agriculture and farming sector. I look forward to working with them and taking their advice because I will need it at times.
Agriculture and the agrifood processing sector is one of Ireland's most important indigenous industries. I would argue that it is this country's most important indigenous industry. It has a key role to play in terms of direct economic activity and is one of the growth sectors designated to advance our national export-led economic recovery. The sector provides a strong base for national economic development. Currently, the overall industry has an annual output of approximately €22 billion and, most importantly, is strongly embedded in the Irish economy. It remains Ireland's most important manufacturing sector, accounting for more than 6% of GDP. A total of more than 139,000 people are employed in the production of agrifood and fisheries products, which is approximately 7.5% of national employment and which is growing week on week. This sector is the primary outlet for the produce and output of the country's 128,000 family farms and includes approximately 600 food and drinks firms. Its wide geographic spread plays a major part in sustaining rural and coastal communities.
A further important facet of the sector is the extent to which it is embedded in the economy and contributes to national prosperity. Due to its low import content and low profit repatriation levels, the net foreign earnings of this sector amount to 32% of the total net foreign earnings from primary and manufacturing industries. That is an extraordinary statistic of which people should take note. In addition, according to Forfás, the food industry spends more than €9.5 billion on Irish goods and services, representing 71% of total expenditure in 2009, far higher than the 44% for all manufacturing industry.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
This industry has a huge export orientation, with exports currently more than €7.8 billion. Over the past decade, the Irish agrifood, forestry and fisheries sectors have competed successfully on the world stage and have demonstrated their capacity to perform as major players in the global food and drink market. Irish food and drink produce is exported to more than 160 countries. This multi-million export industry has also undergone continual development as well as demonstrating considerable flexibility in responding to emerging market opportunities. Over the period it has moved from a largely commodity-based sector, underpinned by market support mechanisms to a far greater reliance on consumer focused, value added product.
The three key attributes of the sector are its embedded contribution to employment and exports, its ability to garner foreign export earnings, and the potential of the sector to generate export-led growth. Together these provide the solid foundation for positioning this progressive indigenous industry as one of the central components of the country's export driven recovery.
I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, on their appointments. I welcome the Minister's statement, with which I concur. In the recent general election I campaigned on the platform that as a nation we must play to our strengths. Our indigenous industries of farming, fishing and tourism are critical to us in that regard. As Members are aware, there is an explosion in the world population. In 1999 there were approximately 6 billion people and this figure is projected to increase to 8 billion by 2025. We have also seen an increase in the global level of affluence, which is expected to increase the overall demand for food by approximately 70%. Furthermore, there has been an increase in urbanisation. It is expected that the number of people living in cities will increase from approximately 50% to 70%. Following the removal of the milk quota, this country's dairy production levels will increase. There is significant potential for an increase in the export of dairy products.
In the west, where I come from, the continued breeding and rearing of predominantly continental breeds of cattle is important in terms of high value beef exports.
Could the Deputy ask a question, please?
I am just coming to it. That national asset needs to be protected in any review of the Common Agricultural Policy. In view of the projected increase in global population, increasing affluence and urbanisation, does the Minister consider this country is likely to become a more significant producer and exporter of beef in the next 15 years?
The answer to the question is: "Absolutely." The Deputy pointed to one of my concerns with Food Harvest 2020. When milk quotas come to an end in 2015, we will see an explosion of ambition in the dairy sector because we will see a significant increase in dairy production. For example, in Cork we will see a doubling of the volume of milk being produced. We must do that. It will be the same in Waterford, Wexford, parts of Tipperary and many other counties that have the capacity to do so. I do not just refer to Munster. In addition to achieving a 50% increase in volumes of milk by 2020, the counties that do not have the capacity to deliver an increase in dairy volumes must be supported in doing other things that are part of the food harvest programme.
If we are to have the kind of beef industry we all want then we cannot rely solely on the by-product of the dairy sector. We must have suckler herds of high quality cattle in order that we can provide the best quality beef in the world. In volume terms, 6% of the beef we export is prime cut steak but it represents 26% of the value of beef exports. We must ensure that as well as having volume, we have quality in the beef sector. We must put the necessary supports in place to ensure that can continue. That will be part of the Common Agricultural Policy review which is under way at the moment.
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle——
I regret that I am out of time. I do not even have time to allow Deputy Kyne to ask a supplementary question.
30 Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the outcome of his recent meeting in Madrid with the Spanish fisheries Minister; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7710/11]
We are back to fishing. I recently accompanied President Mary McAleese on a three day official visit to Spain. During the visit, on 21 March 2011, I arranged a bilateral meeting in Madrid with Rosa Aguilar, Minister of Environment, Rural and Maritime Affairs and who is the Spanish Minister with responsibility for fisheries, to discuss the planned reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, and to identify areas of mutual interest to both Spain and Ireland. Both countries participate in and rely on similar fisheries and markets for seafood products. Those realities mean we have much in common in striving for an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable fishing sector to 2012 and beyond.
Deputy Daly will be aware of this because he knows his constituents well. We have much of common interest with Spain in terms of the review of the Common Fisheries Policy, but we also disagree with Spain on many things. We were open and blunt about the areas on which we disagree in terms of access to quota, how quotas are managed within countries and whether they are traded or considered a national asset that is distributed by government. The latter is very much the Irish position. Otherwise, one would find that quota would simply be traded out of this country, as has happened in the United Kingdom, which has devastated certain elements of the fishing industry there.
We have common interests as well in terms of ensuring we maximise the volume of money available in the next round of the Common Fisheries Policy and also in other environmental management areas such as fish discards. I have a particular interest in the area. As a Member of the European Parliament I was a member of the fisheries committee. I pushed for a new approach towards discards. Unfortunately, we throw hundreds of thousands of tonnes of dead fish back into the sea each year because of by-catch or quota restrictions and a whole series of other reasons. We can be much more intelligent about how we manage discards in the fisheries sector. I would like to see Ireland and Spain working together to try to find solutions in that regard. The Spanish Minister is very keen to do the same.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht an fhreagra sin. I thank the Minister for that comprehensive response. I very much welcome his commitment to the sea fisheries industry, which is vital not only in my constituency, Cork South-West, but also in many others throughout the country. It has great potential for economic growth and many associated developments.
The Minister mentioned the issue of discards. Does he intend to raise this when he meets the fisheries Commissioner in Luxembourg tomorrow? If so, what outcome would he like to achieve?
I thank the Deputy for that question. I am flying to Brussels this evening and am to meet the fisheries Commissioner tomorrow. I have not yet met her but would like to do so. I have met the agriculture Commissioner. The Common Fisheries Policy review is very important for Ireland. It must not be in the political shadow of the Common Agricultural Policy review, which is happening at the same time. Both are very important for their respective sectors. When I was asked to be a Minister, I specifically requested ownership of the fisheries sector because, unfortunately, it has not had representation around the Cabinet table. It needs to be represented, particularly in the context of the review.
The current Commissioner is determined to achieve some progress on the issue of discards. The current approach is not workable for the industry. I have met all the main industry players, including those from Killybegs, Castletownbere and the east coast. They are anxious to make progress on the discards issue but the current proposal on offer from the Commissioner is probably not workable. We will be thrashing out some of the ideas coming from the Irish fisheries sector with her to try to have a pragmatic, workable approach to discards and a system that fishing trawler operators can buy into rather than one that is unrealistic.
Did the Minister raise with the Spanish Minister the issue of information sharing and quota arrangements for boats fishing in the Irish box and Irish waters, particularly the difficulties of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority in knowing the details on Spanish boats when they land fish here?
That is a good question on an important issue. Ireland is very anxious to make progress with electronic log books on boats such that when trawlers, be they French, Spanish, British or Irish, catch fish instant information will be obtained on the catch volume. The Naval Service, which is monitoring catch, would have access to the information instantaneously. Manual log books can be doctored before an inspection of boats. We need real-time information on boats so we will know when they are in Irish waters, what is being caught, who is catching the fish and where they are being landed. There has been frustration within the Irish fishing sector over the fact that we are not progressing the electronic log book concept more speedily. I will be raising this with the Commissioner tomorrow.
31 Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if in the interest of achieving targets set out in the Food Harvest 2020, he will consider recommending to the Department of Finance, special tax exemptions to individual dairy herdowners for investment in expansion of herd and allowance for capital investment in the processing sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7696/11]
We have returned to the subject of Food Harvest 2020, the potential and value of which I hope people outside the farming sector will begin to appreciate. The question concerns whether we can introduce tax breaks for dairy farmers who need to invest to increase capacity in the period after 2015.
Taxation policy is a matter for the Minister for Finance. My officials are in contact with the Department of Finance on an ongoing basis in regard to taxation measures, particularly in the context of preparations for the annual budget. Despite the challenging economic and fiscal situation that pertained at the time of the most recent budget passed by this House, the key tax incentives for farmers were maintained. It is important to recognise the role of the previous Government in that regard.
The Food Harvest 2020 strategy represents the strategic blueprint for the development of the agriculture, food, fisheries and forestry sectors over the next decade. With respect to the dairy sector, there is an ambitious objective of having a 50% increase in output by 2020. The dairy activation group has been established to prepare a roadmap for the expansion and development of the sector and has made a number of recommendations on additional tax reliefs to facilitate dairy herd expansion. These recommendations are being considered in the context of the annual budget process. However, as stated in the Food Harvest 2020 report, any new initiatives must be grounded in national fiscal realities. It was made clear in the report that any envisaged reprioritisation of policy emanating from Food Harvest 2020 would be on the basis of a reallocation of existing resources as opposed to making available any new sources of State funding. In many ways, tax breaks are the same as grant aid. Income foregone is similar to expenditure.
There are a number of taxation measures already in place that are of benefit to the sector. These include 100% stock relief for young trained farmers and 90% agricultural relief from capital acquisitions tax. Additional tax reliefs are in place to promote the transfer of land to young farmers and the long-term leasing of farmland. Consideration will be given to the potential restructuring and better targeting of existing reliefs to maximise the benefits afforded by them. Tax reliefs and targeted investment measures can be designed to encourage specific actions such as restructuring and farm modernisation.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
One such investment initiative currently being undertaken is the targeted agriculture modernisation scheme for the dairy sector. I am very encouraged by the performance of the dairy sector in 2010, where exports grew by 17% in value. I am convinced that the ending of quota restrictions in 2015 represents a unique opportunity for Ireland to expand its dairy production and it is obvious that the sector is already very well placed to meet the targets set out in Food Harvest 2020.
My Department has recently awarded significant investment aid in the dairy and beef-sheepmeat processing sectors. These awards were made following a competitive process and involve grant aid of 40% or more towards eligible investment to improve efficiency and support value-added production. In all, aid of €114 million was awarded towards investment of €268 million in the dairy sector and aid of €69 million was awarded towards investment of €168 million in the beef-sheepmeat sector. The funds aim to improve efficiency and competitiveness and to support value-added production. In the case of other value-added sectors, my Department is providing funding to improve competitiveness using a proven "lean manufacturing" approach which enables companies to achieve cost savings and adopt a whole-of-business approach to growth. This is managed by Enterprise Ireland with funding from my Department.
Without being cynical, I must state the Minister has indulged in subtle sidestepping of the question. The reality is that if we are to have a 50% expansion in the dairy sector between now and 2020, very significant capital investment will be called for, both at the primary production end and the processing, storage and transportation end. Investment in the sector is necessary as it has the potential to create jobs at a time when the Government is considering ways of creating real jobs in the economy. I would have thought some consideration would have been given to providing a stimulus package in this area.
The expansion plan is probably the most significant announced for the dairy sector in a very long time in Ireland, apart from the time when the quota regime was established in 1983. It is a very significant proposal and it will involve very significant capital investment. The reality is that the processors and those in the sector will be looking to primary producers for some investment. There will be a need to build an incentive into the arrangement. Having regard to the job potential that exists in this area, I would have thought the Minister would have considered it more realistically. I am sure he will with the passage of time.
If I had had a little more time, I would have spoken about some of the grant aid that is being planned for the sector. The Deputy will probably be aware of the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme for the dairy sector, which is about providing grant aid for dairy equipment, rainwater harvesting and the modernisation of parlours. Some targeted grant aid will be made available. A quite significant amount of financial assistance is being offered to the processing sector because it also needs to be able to build capacity to be able to deal with increased volumes of milk. One will see in the build-up to the upcoming budget a reflection of the support we need to give in terms of increased production in the form of grant aid. I must be honest also and state we are restricted in how much we can spend. Any increased expenditure I can produce will be as a result of much work on making the case for value for money spend, because every cent we spend at present is being competed for by many Departments because of the budgetary constraints that exist.
32 Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the incidence of colony collapse disorder in the honey bee population here; the impact of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7779/11]
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is nice to know there are almost 2,500 beekeepers in Ireland. Bees play an essential role worldwide by pollinating many of our commercial food crops. They also maintain biodiversity in the wild by pollinating wild plants which then provide shelter and food for a wide range of insects and animals.
The honey bee is by far the most important insect pollinator in the world. A recent Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government study valued Irish bee pollination to be worth €85 million per annum. This would have included over 100 native Irish bee species of which the honey bee is the most important.
It is estimated that, in Ireland, there are over 2,400 beekeepers who maintain approximately 24,000 hives. Like other EU member states, most of these beekeepers are hobbyists and fewer than 100 Irish beekeepers would be regarded as commercial operators. Ireland accounts for approximately 1% of the EU's beekeepers. More than 2,000 of the Irish beekeepers are members of the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations which plays a very active role in promoting the sector.
A number of years ago beekeepers in continental Europe and more particularly in the USA started to notice that they were encountering higher losses of bees and even total disappearance of bees. This phenomenon was given the name "colony collapse disorder". Since then many theories have been advanced to explain these losses including climate change, bee starvation, pests and diseases, pesticide usage, and electronic signal interfering with bee navigation and or a combination of some of these factors.
To date there has been no scientifically proven explanation for these losses. While some continental European countries and the US in particular have reported losses well in excess of 30% of colonies for no apparent reason, we in Ireland have not seen losses on this scale. The first Irish survey looked at 2009 to 2010 over-winter losses. It identified an overall national loss of 24% of colonies. While higher than the expected typical over-winter loss of circa 15% for Irish colonies, the survey did not identify losses on a widespread scale as reported in other countries. The fact that 2009 was a very wet year would have impacted on bees' natural ability to forage and this is a factor that also has to be considered when looking at colony losses. The survey of 2010 to 2011 over-winter losses is currently ongoing and I encourage all beekeepers to participate.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
The COLOSS network into which the survey feeds, involves researchers from 49 different countries worldwide who are working together as they seek to identify the cause of the losses affecting bees. Ireland has participated in this network for the past three years and will continue to do so under the national apiculture programme which runs to 2013. The apiculture programme, which is funded on a 50:50 basis by my Department and the EU is providing funding of €300,000 over the three year period from 2010 to 2013 to carry out research on bee pests, in particular varroa in addition to monitoring colony losses.
There is increasing international awareness of the importance of bees and the need to maintain healthy bee populations. Last December's European Commission's communication on bee health to the European Parliament and the Council is just one example of this. I welcome this increased awareness together with the increased EU funding for research on bee health and in particular the recent establishment of an EU bee health reference laboratory in France.
My officials continue to play an active role in these ongoing deliberations, and I am confident that with this additional focus and the level of scientific research currently being devoted to bees, we will obtain a result which will lead to an improvement in bee health across Europe.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. One of the possible causes of colony collapse disorder is the varroa mite which is resistant to Bayvarol. Is it true this medicine has been found not to be effective? Why has there been a delay in promoting or licensing oxalic acid which beekeepers tell me is an alternative which works? Given that we imported €6 million worth of honey to Ireland last year what has been done to train beekeepers to support the industry and expand it? There is huge potential in this industry and part of this involves training beekeepers to ensure colony collapse disorder does not spread to Ireland.
I do not have the answers to those questions. I will come back to the Deputy. I do know the Department has invested €300,000 over a three year period to work with 49 countries on finding out what is the cause of this disorder and this work is ongoing.
What is the situation regarding the importation of queen bees given the risks that might be associated with bringing bees into the country from outside and the risks of bringing in any unknown causes for colony collapse disorder?
I will come back to the Deputy on this because I would be telling him a lie if I said I knew anything about it.
33 Deputy Áine Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has raised his concerns in relation to the trade negotiations with Mercosur countries with the EU agriculture Commissioner and his EU agriculture Minister colleagues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7707/11]
35 Deputy Áine Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if changes to the current milk superlevy regime are envisaged to allow Irish dairy farmers to prepare for the abolition of the milk quota in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7753/11]
45 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the position regarding the EU-Mercosur trade talks and the need to protect irish interests. [7694/11]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 33, 35 and 45 together.
These questions relate to the EU's negotiations with the Mercosur countries on a new bilateral trade deal. In case the House is not aware, this represents an extraordinary threat to the Irish beef industry because in essence what may happen is that the European beef sector would be sacrificed to allow European financial services and other product services to access South American markets, primarily Argentina and Brazil. We cannot allow this.
In my first Council meeting, which was last month, I made it very clear that it makes absolutely no sense for many reasons to allow for a very large quota of increased beef trade coming into the European Union to displace beef that is produced in countries such as Ireland. It makes no sense from a climate change perspective as we produce beef with the lowest carbon footprint in the world because we have a grass-based system while most of the beef produced in South America is from a much more intensive system with a much higher methane footprint which is referred to as a carbon footprint. From a climate change point of view, it is totally contrary to what the European Union is trying to do.
From a food security point of view, it makes no sense because Ireland produces beef cattle at a standard that is matched nowhere else in the world as far as I am concerned from the point of view of animal husbandry, inputs and traceability. European consumers can rest assured when they purchase and eat Irish meat products. I cannot see any sense in the European Union simply replacing Irish meat. We export 80% of everything we produce. Most other beef industries feel threatened by Mercosur for domestic reasons but we export to other European countries.
We are in the process of a negotiation and countries such as Ireland need to do everything we can to help other countries understand the significance of the beef industry and beef exports to this country, certainly in the context of what we state in the Food Harvest 2020 document. We cannot allow a political deal to be done that will sacrifice our industry to allow European financial services, motor cars from Germany or whatever the industry may be to access markets in South America.
Another Council meeting will be held tomorrow; this issue is on the agenda and I will raise it. We have convinced the Commissioner that this represents a significant danger to the European beef sector but we must allow him also to get more support in the Commission for the concerns Ireland and a number of other countries have in this regard. I have met the Spanish Minister and the French Minister, Bruno Lemair, who have similar concerns to those of Ireland. We are in the process of building an alliance to try to prevent a potential catastrophe for the Irish beef sector should the wrong deal be signed with Mercosur countries. We will continue this political effort tomorrow.
I thank the Minister for his detailed response and I congratulate him and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, on their recent appointments. I am a new Deputy from Cork North-West where agriculture is one of the largest industries and I share the Minister's concerns particularly with regard to the beef industry as Ireland is one of the largest exporters in this industry in the northern hemisphere. What is Ireland's position on the decision to relaunch the EU-Mercosur talks? Does the Minister believe any possible benefits exist for Ireland in these talks?
It is important to state our position should not be against any world trade deal as Ireland has many industries. Most of the growth in our economy comes from the export sector at present, and many of those exports are to world markets outside the European Union. We must be careful, therefore, in what we say about world trade. At the same time, we cannot allow an agreement to be reached between the European Union and any other collection of countries that sacrifices an industry of fundamental importance to the Irish economy such as the beef industry. We must ensure that the current round of talks that are ongoing between the European Union and the four South American countries concerned does not result in a deal that is contrary to Irish interests, particularly in the beef sector.
We have asked the European Commission to carry out an economic impact assessment of a new Mercosur deal before it is done, and I will remind it of that obligation tomorrow. We cannot strike a deal or make an offer in terms of beef quota access to the European Union from South America without having such an economic assessment in place, so everybody can understand the implications of a deal. We cannot sacrifice a sector, one that happens to be hugely important for Ireland, to allow other European business interests to access new markets. That is not the way the European Union should work.
In light of all that has been said about Food Harvest 2020 and food security within the EU, it beggars belief that it is even contemplating discussions in that regard in the Mercosur negotiations. I am delighted to hear the Minister's strong and unequivocal response to it. It is vital that every sector of Irish agriculture conveys the message to the European Commission that we cannot, under any circumstances, even issue one paragraph of discussion about it, because it will be of huge consequence. The Minister is to attend the Council of Ministers meeting tomorrow. Is it a priority issue on the agenda or is it an issue for later? I urge the Minister to convey the concerns of Irish agriculture as he has outlined them because this is destabilising for people in the sector. We are trying to encourage people into the beef industry and to reach the targets in Food Harvest 2020 and it is destabilising for them that there is another round of negotiations countenanced by the European Commission in these trade talks.
It is an "any other business" item tomorrow. That is the only way to get a specific issue such as this on the agenda. My understanding is that the Presidency establishes the agenda for Council of Ministers meetings. If one wishes to include something extra on the agenda, on which Ireland has insisted on this occasion, the way to do so is to have it considered as an "any other business" item, as it will be tomorrow. That does not mean it is not important. It was raised in the same way last month by the Dutch, and I spoke on the Dutch motion. The Deputy need not worry as I will raise our concerns in no uncertain terms.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
