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Agrifood Sector

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020

Tuesday, 1 December 2020

Questions (805, 806, 807)

Holly Cairns

Question:

805. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of the barley used to make Irish whiskey that is Irish-grown barley; if genetically modified barley grown outside Ireland is used in the production of Irish whiskey; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40180/20]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

806. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps his Department is taking to encourage Irish whiskey producers to source the barley for their produce from farmers within the island of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40181/20]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

807. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider requesting to amend the Irish whiskey protected geographical indication, PGI, technical file to state barley for Irish whiskey must be sourced on the island of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40182/20]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 805 to 807, inclusive, together.

Approximately 17% of total Irish barley production is procured by the drinks sector; the balance of the national barley crop is grown for animal feed and seed production. It is open to individual farmers to decide what enterprise they undertake and to what scale it should be undertaken, according to their land type and with due consideration to the market terms for their products.

As only basic malt is produced in Ireland, drinks requiring specialised malts are often either reliant on imported malt or the export of Irish grain for processing and the re-importation for use in the drinks industry.

Independent reports estimate that 93% of all barley used in brewing and distilling is native barley, and that the balance is sourced mainly from the UK, with some imports also from the EU. No genetically modified barley exists in the UK or the European Union.

My Department will this year fund a Teagasc facility which will allow for testing raw materials for malting and the production of small batches of specialised malts for the craft beer sector or for test batches for distilling companies. The equipment will also provide a facility for brewing and distilling companies to try new varieties/crops at a small commercial scale or to produce different styles of malt for different beers or spirits at a craft scale. It is expected that this facility will assist in identifying how home grown grain can be used to meet the requirements of the drinks industry.

The technical files for each of the Geographical Indication (GI) for Irish Spirit Drinks (Irish Whiskey/Uisce Beatha Eireannach/Irish Whisky, Irish Cream and Irish Poteen/Irish Poitín) were confirmed by the European Commission in March 2019 as meeting the required conditions laid down in relevant EU Regulation.

Whilst the Irish Whiskey Technical file contains specifics relating to the types and combinations of grains to be used for the creation of mashes for the production of each of the varieties of Irish Whiskey, it does not specify any requirements regarding the sourcing of the raw materials including grains utilised in the production of Irish Whiskey.

Restricting the sourcing of inputs such as cereals/grains in the production of Spirit Drinks cannot conflict with the EU Treaty rules on the freedom of movement of goods. However, notwithstanding the absence of such a requirement in the specification, the malting sector has undoubtedly delivered an added value outlet for Irish barley growers in recent years with the brewing and distilling sectors utilising approximately 250,000 tonnes of Irish barley annually of which 90,000 tonnes were purchased for the Irish whiskey industry.

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