Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 May 2017
231. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of times including dates that the Brexit consultative committee has met since the UK Brexit referendum. [25164/17]
View answerOne of the steps I undertook in the immediate aftermath of the UK's decision to leave the EU was to establish a Consultative Committee of Stakeholders in order to ensure a full exchange of information on the potential implications of a UK exit from the EU for the agrifood sector in Ireland. The working arrangements of the Committee are to meet as required rather than according to a pre-determined schedule.
Building on more informal consultation arrangements that had been in place in the months leading up to the referendum, I convened the first formal meeting of the Brexit Consultative Committee of Stakeholders on 7 July 2016. A comprehensive and very useful discussion on the sectorial impacts took place, and this was followed by a further meeting of the Committee on 20 October 2016.
The next stage of the consultation process took place in the context of the All-Island Civic Dialogue, which commenced in November 2016. Three sectorial meetings for the agrifood and fisheries sectors took place between December 2016 and February 2017. The first, which comprehensively examined the potential impacts and potential solutions for the cattle and sheep, dairy, and pigs and poultry sectors, took place on 15 December 2016. The second, dealing with issues in the fisheries sector, took place on 1 February 2017. The third addressed the implications for the forestry, horticulture, prepared consumer foods and cereals/animal feed sectors, and took place on 8 February 2017.
This first stage of the All-Island Civic Dialogue concluded with a plenary discussion in Dublin Castle on 17 February 2017 which addressed, among other things, the agrifood and fisheries issues that had been raised during the sectorial meetings.
I then held a further meeting of the Stakeholder Consultative Committee on 11 April 2017.
A second phase of the All-Island Civic Dialogue has now commenced. As part of this, I have hosted a further sectorial dialogue for the alcohol, beverage and distilling sector on 3 May 2017, and arrangements are currently being made for a similar gathering for the equine and greyhound sectors on June.
All of these consultations are helping to further inform my approach and that of my Department to the challenges presented by Brexit for the agrifood and fisheries sectors, and the Brexit Consultative Committee of Stakeholders will continue to play a vital role in this regard.
