Charlie McConalogue
Question:387. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of funding allocated in 2018 and 2019 to the marketing intensification programme of an Bord Bia. [10283/19]
View answerTuesday, 5 March 2019
Questions (387)
Written answers
A total grant sum is allocated annually to Bord Bia by my Department and voted on by the Oireachtas in conjunction with the estimates process. In the context of Budget 2019, I was pleased to announce the allocation of a further €5.3million to Bord Bia for 2019, bringing its total grant in aid to €46.6 million for 2019, a 40% increase in funding for Bord Bia since 2016.
The detailed allocation of non-pay (operational funds) by Bord Bia contained within its voted grant-in-aid is an operational matter for Bord Bia.
However, Bord Bia's Marketing Intensification Programme (MIP) was introduced as a once-off measure of limited duration (two years), with the total paid over the course of the two programmes in 2016 and 2017 amounting to €1,084,739. The programme provide targeted supports to companies with a high dependency on the UK market in 2016 when, in particular, currency markets were very volatile.
Funding for this programme was provided by my Department, in conjunction with a larger package of additional dedicated Brexit funding I granted to Bord Bia in 2016 and 2017, consequent on the Brexit vote in June 2016.
Additional supports by Bord Bia to client companies exporting to the UK, to address the challenges of Brexit, are now encompassed in the market prioritisation strategy and strategic market promotion and supports, in the UK, other EU and international markets. Funding has been also made available for a two year MSc in Insight and Innovation in NUI Maynooth which was recently launched by Bord Bia.