Bord Bia already operates a Poultry Quality Assurance Scheme which makes a critically important contribution to the marketing and promotion of the product.
I have recently received representations from the poultry industry seeking, inter alia, the introduction of a statutory levy with matching funding from the Exchequer to assist in the continued promotion of chicken. My Department is at present considering relevant legal state aids and other issues, including the scope for poultry promotion, for example through the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme, to which I have already referred.
On the question of additional exchequer funding however such consideration must ultimately have regard to the exigencies of the public finances, and against that background, I will not be in a position to make a further financial contribution to the activities of Bord Bia at this time.