Departmental Meetings

Tuesday, 18 April 2023

Questions (1173)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

1173. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he last met with the CEO of Bord Bia; and when he will next meet the CEO. [16922/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

I advise the Deputy that I along with my Ministerial colleagues Minister of State Pippa Hackett and Minister of State Martin Heydon meet regularly with the CEO of Bord Bia throughout the year. Bord Bia plays a critical role in the promotion of our world class, safe and sustainable food at home and abroad.

We work collectively and collaboratively with Bord Bia through its CEO and the rest of the team in working to promote Irish food and drink domestically and internationally. Our focus is on operating in high-value markets for the benefit of everyone in the agrifood sector particularly our farm families, fishing communities and food producers.

There is a regular cycle of agrifood industry events which commenced earlier this year with the Bord Bia Performance and Prospects event which I and my Ministerial colleagues attended.

There are also a series of Ministerial-led trade missions in conjunction with Bord Bia as part of our market access activities during the course of the year, to which myself as well as Ministers of State Hackett and Heydon attend. Minister Heydon has specific responsibility for new market development.

Bord Bia is closely aligned with the strategies and policies of my Department, specifically the agrifood industry strategy of Food Vision 2030 and the Chief Executive of Bord Bia is a member of the Food Vision High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC) which meet quarterly and of which I am the Chair.

There is also an ongoing dialogue between my Department and Bord Bia based on a common understanding of the objectives of the State body and the actions through which it seeks to achieve those objectives and the alignment of same with the aims and ambitions of the Department. The CEO of Bord Bia is the lead in any such discussions, many of which I attend.