Trevor Sargent
Ceist:57 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the amount of An Bord Bia's budget used to promote Irish beef in Britain; and the percentage of Irish beef sold in Britain labelled as such. [1851/96]
Vol. 460 No. 6
57 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the amount of An Bord Bia's budget used to promote Irish beef in Britain; and the percentage of Irish beef sold in Britain labelled as such. [1851/96]
75 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry in view of the concerns of consumers regarding BSE in cattle, if he will provide An Bord Bia with the necessary resources to counter the serious threat to Irish beef on export markets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1843/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 and 75 together. The British market remains the single most important market for Irish beef with exports valued at £210 million in 1995. To maintain our share of this valuable market and overcome the adverse publicity brought about by the BSE scare there before Christmas last, I have asked An Bord Bia to launch an intensive marketing and promotional campaign in order to affirm and project the high quality image of Irish beef. The total cost of the campaign will be £1 million.