Mr. Ciaran Fitzgerald:

I thank the committee for inviting us here. It is important that we have been invited and we are very keen to present the industry's view. The industry has delivered a very strong performance in the last five years. Last year exports exceeded €2 billion. The value of cattle has increased on average by €400 million in the last five years. It is the only agricultural commodity for which price increases have been sustained. The industry has delivered a very strong performance and transformed itself. Ten years ago we had a frozen beef commodity industry. Now we have a largely fresh produce industry linked to major European retailers and food service businesses. The business has transformed dramatically and delivered very strongly in terms of its investment in the productive sector. Mr. Healy will take us through some of the elements of that transformation and performance to take us from where we were to where we are.