Mr. Padraig Brennan:

Deputy Carthy's question was about the balance in the PGI application and the potential, if we are to be successful in the application, for any PGI to extract a premium from the marketplace. We were challenged from the outset on what that balance needed to look like. On the one hand, we needed an application that would hopefully be robust enough to get beyond the European Commission in its criteria and in its assessment of it. At the same time, given the challenges the beef sector is facing in Ireland, particularly at farm level, we sought to ensure that the maximum number of farms could benefit from any PGI if we were to be successful.

That was the balance we were trying to strike. There were many conversations through the beef task force meetings over the past number of months as we tried to finalise that. We got consensus on that at the October meeting of the beef task force. There was general agreement that the application was robust and ready to be put forward to Brussels.

When we look across Europe in terms of premia for protected geographical indication, PGI, products, it varies a little by market and by product but if we take examples, we are looking at products carrying a premium typically of between 5% and 20%. Some of them are on a much smaller scale in terms of the level of output, as the Deputy rightly highlighted, but there is a premium position for a product that carries a PGI label. In terms of the way we are looking at it, if we were lucky enough to be successful with the PGI application for Irish grass-fed beef it would allow us build a much stronger position for Irish beef than we were able to do heretofore in that we can call out the Irishness in a much more open way and build a brand around Irish grass-fed beef. We believe that gives us the opportunity to deliver a premium over time. It may not be overnight but over time we believe it would have the potential to do that.

In terms of the Deputy's second question around the technical IT systems, the other element of the application was, and based on engagements we had with the European Commission throughout the 20-month process or whatever it was, that we had to have a robust verification system in place. In terms of the Irish grass-fed beef PGI application, therefore, we have been anxious to be able to demonstrate that to strengthen the application as much as possible.

In terms of the technical IT systems in Northern Ireland, we have had ongoing engagements with our counterparts in Northern Ireland over the past number of months sharing how we approach it and the infrastructure that we have in place. The application that has been submitted to Brussels contains the application itself and an accompanying cover letter discusses the interest and the approach in terms of Northern Ireland being part of that over a period of time. It is about trying to strike that balance on that element of it also.