Vol. 501 No. 1
47 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the recent efforts, if any, his Department has made to access the sale of Irish agricultural produce in large supermarket outlets which are British owned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5251/99]
As I indicated previously, the rules governing the Single Market preclude any member state from restricting the free movement of goods, including food, on grounds of trade. This means that member states cannot compel their retailers to source supplies from domestic producers.
An Bord Bia has statutory responsibility for marketing and promotion of Irish food and drink products both at home and abroad. It is its policy to work closely with all retailers and retail groups to maximise potential markets for Irish food and drink and to ensure targeted and appropriate assistance. The board has programmes in place that address marketing difficulties, including quality assurance schemes which restore consumer confidence.
Other State agencies such as An Bord Glas and Enterprise Ireland also have programmes in place with producers to ensure that technical standards are satisfactory and that close working relationships are established to the advantage of producers of Irish food products.
