Brendan Smith
Question:200. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the outcome of the recent beef forum meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36568/16]
View answerWednesday, 23 November 2016
Questions (200)
Written answers
Last Thursday I chaired my second Beef Forum since taking office. It was a successful meeting with positive engagement from stakeholders. It included presentations from Meat Industry Ireland and the IFA. At the previous meeting in July it had been agreed that stakeholders should be given the opportunity to present their views to the forum and these presentations were the first in a series which will give an opportunity to all stakeholders who wish to present to do so in future meetings .
There was a significant discussion on the measures being taken to mitigate the impact of Brexit on the agri sector. These include a number of measures in Budget 2017, including a 21% in RDP funding, adjustments to the income averaging system to allow farmers to opt out in an exceptional year, increased PRSI benefits for the self employed and an increase in the farmers' flat rate VAT addition.
Stakeholders were also provided with further information on the €150 million Agri Cash flow Support loan fund announced in Budget 2017. There was particular interest in this and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, who attended the meeting for this item, committed to making themselves available for further discussions with stakeholders if required.
In addition, stakeholders were briefed on efforts to open new markets for beef, including recent trade missions to Asia and North Africa, and on recent engagement with supermarkets in the UK who purchase Irish Beef.
Bord Bia also gave a presentation on the market outlook for 2017 noting the expected increase in supply of cattle next year, as well as updating the Forum on the work being carried out by Bord Bia in the promotion of Irish beef which is delivering substantial success in markets such as the Netherlands and Germany. This is very important especially in the context of the impact of the fluctuations in the sterling/euro exchange rate on the value of beef exports to the UK in recent months.
Brexit will undoubtedly present substantial challenges to the beef sector. Against this background the actions outlined in Food Wise 2025 are all the more important, and in that context, I announced the appointment of Michael Dowling as chairperson of a Meat Implementation Group to monitor the implementation of sectoral actions.
The Programme for Government includes a commitment to continue with the Beef Forum as a means of facilitating constructive dialogue between Beef Industry stakeholders. I intend to meet that commitment.