Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Cotter for his presentation. Even though I am not a committee member I wanted to attend here today because I have huge respect for the work of Bord Bia, including its sustainability programme called Origin Green, its work to meet the targets of FoodWise 2025 and the farm to fork initiative.

Can we add value here at home before we export? Is there anything that Bord Bia can do to increase employability from exports? My colleague, Senator Conway-Walsh, has given the good example of seaweed. One of the reasons I am in the Seanad is because I have a particular interest in the sector. The seaweed industry is an area that we can add value before we move the product to Asian markets. The industry has huge potential. Can we create more employment in the sector before we export the product abroad?