Ms Br?d O'Connell:

It is not an area in which we have involved ourselves. That is really a supermarket war, if you like, and it is for the supermarkets to engage in those fights. There is an opportunity for branded goods to really benefit from co-branding with the likes of Guaranteed Irish, and we would be delighted to help them with that. There is a definite desire on the part of the consumer to know the provenance of goods and where they have come from. Consumer are very intelligent citizens and they accept that not all elements in their jar, tin, package or homegrown produce are going to be Irish. They have accepted that but what they want to know is how much of it is Irish. It is the traceability piece as well. That is really important for consumers but so is the broader context of the manufacture or production of that product, what it has done on its journey and the sustainability piece, and what it has done to our planet to get here. They are really interested in that.

As I said, we are not planet savers or environmentalists but we do ask our members to be cognisant of what we are doing. Beyond that journey, the educational piece is important. It is as important to know what we do not do as it is to know what we actually do.