Mr. Shane Dempsey:

I was asked how we would see a sector's specific funding working. There is a number currently administered by Enterprise Ireland involving State and EU funding and they are generally run by venture capital, VC, companies. A number of us mentioned that, traditionally, VCs do not find food companies an attractive type of investment because the returns are steadier but they are over a longer period, and they are not as exciting to venture capital companies as other areas such as technology. However, they are still impressive over a longer period of time. There are a number of general funds out that have mentioned that.

However, in their funding and in how they are administered, the food companies do not get a fair share out of those funds. We suggest that, even in the general generic funds, there should be more of an incentive for the venture capital company to select food companies for investment. There may even need to be a quota system created to ensure that enough food companies get finance. Ultimately, a sector-specific fund, run by a VC with experience and expertise in the food sector, is probably the best solution here. It has happened in other sectors and we do not see why it should not happen in food.