Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2017
1689. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether Food Wise 2025 should be reviewed in view of the fact that its forecasts and targets were predicated on the UK remaining in the EU and that the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has commenced a review of Enterprise 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28462/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFood Wise 2025, the new ten year strategy for the agrifood sector, identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow the sector to grow and prosper. Food Wise includes more than 400 specific recommendations, spread across the cross-cutting themes of sustainability, innovation, human capital, market development and competitiveness; as well as specific sectorial recommendations.
The implementation process for any strategy is vital for its success. I chair the Food Wise High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC), with high level representatives from all the relevant Departments and State agencies. The committee reviews progress on detailed actions on a quarterly basis, in order to identify and solve problems quickly. Stakeholders regularly present to the committee meetings on their priorities for particular sectors or themes and by the end of this year, the HLIC will have reviewed in detail progress on the five cross-cutting themes and the eleven individual sectors outlined in Food Wise 2025.
In light of the UK vote to leave the EU, Brexit has been included as a standard item on the agenda of each meeting of the HLIC. It is clear that driving the implementation of the Food Wise recommendations, particularly those related to market development, competitiveness and innovation, will assume even greater importance in the light of the UK decision.
I will be launching Steps to Success 2017, the second progress report on Food Wise 2025, next month.
