Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and his officials. We just had a discussion, which delayed us a little, about the nature and structure of the whole system under consideration here. I think there is general frustration among the members of the committee with the way the performance indicators, as they are currently outlined, work - or do not work.

Due to the limited time, rather than go into session 1 we will move straight to part 2, the opening statement from the Minister. At the end of the meeting, the committee will make a report on the outcome of the deliberations and lay it before both Houses, as well as circulating it to the working group of chairmen. We would like to see if we can find a way for the Departments, the committee secretariat and the liaison group to come up with a more workable formula. We have been shown a model based on the New Zealand model, which may represent best practice. Perhaps that could be further developed.

As it is, there is frustration with how the indicators are laid out. For example, the projections mention Origin Green, but it is not clear how that manifests itself as a benefit to the Department. Bord Bia takes care of it. Will it result in a better outcome for the agri-sector? In the same way, the enactment of the consumer and competition Bill is mentioned, although this Department is not directly responsible for it. At the same time, it is clear that, if implemented and enforced, the Bill would give tools to the relevant authority which should benefit the agriculture sector. When a target is given without explanation, it seems a little bit vague and people have to pick up on it.