Mr. Simon McKeever:

On the training side, support should be made available to enable small companies to avail of the training schemes offered by us and other organisations. InterTradeIreland has made vouchers available, of which some of those who attend our course avail. It is a very good support. Because the food sector is so specialised, it is quite difficult to take a co-operative approach. We have considered whether there is a locally-based way to provide a service for some of the logistics companies. The production runs, export products and compliance requirements of companies differ. Our training informs exporters of what one should put in each box because that is what they need to know. Although there are customs brokers and similar services, if supports were made available, companies could take on such tasks. The service could be farmed out, but, at a minimum, somebody in the organisation needs to know it. The volume involved will be so significant that it is probably a good idea for companies to bring the process in-house.