Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 July 2008
484 Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the progress made on the Programme for Government proposal to invest in improving competitiveness, enhancing the environment here and promoting diversification on and off the farm; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28537/08]
View answerIt should be emphasised that there are in place a number of strategic plans operated by my Department that have the overall objective of developing and enhancing the capacity, sustainability and competitiveness of the agriculture, food, and forestry sectors. These include the Agri Vision 2015 Action Plan, the relevant commitments in Towards 2016, the National Development Plan and the Rural Development Programme for the 2007-2013 period, and the agriculture research and development programmes in the National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation.
An example of the implementation of this commitment is through the Agri Vision 2015 Action Plan which details 167 actions to be undertaken to help ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of the agri-food industry. To date, 93% of these actions had been implemented. To achieve these aims, extensive funding has been provided, both national and EU, through direct payments, the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Rural Development Programme (RDP).
