Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and committee members for allowing me to sit in on this discussion. I also compliment the committee on its initiative in inviting representatives of the mushroom industry here today. I congratulate them on the success they have made of their industry. They are world leaders in that field and deserve great credit for that and for the 3,500 jobs associated with that industry. I am sure this is a particularly stressful time for everybody in the industry when external factors over which they have very little control can determine the future. I can only imagine what they and everyone employed in the industry are going through.

I know Ronnie Wilson very well. His name has been associated with the mushroom industry in Monaghan and throughout the world for the past 25 to 30 years. He is also a very large employer, one we are very fortunate to have in County Monaghan. Of the 3,500 jobs, approximately 1,000 are in County Monaghan and Ronnie Wilson could be responsible for up to half of those. It is an especially difficult issue for the industry and for a county such as Monaghan. No county is more exposed to this crisis. The words "crisis" and "freefall" have been used here today and they are not overused. It is imperative that Government steps in now to give the mushroom producers a bridge to get over this period and reassess where we are going.

I see two problems, namely, the current threat of the fluctuation in sterling and the threat from Poland. The mushroom producers seem to be more concerned about sterling than Poland. That is welcome. Aside from the sterling issue, where do the witnesses see the mushroom industry going post-Brexit? Are they confident about its future? Given that 3,500 jobs are associated with this industry, we are in crisis and the industry is in freefall, has any Department been in contact with the industry since the Brexit vote on 23 June?