Dr. Mike Johnston:

I agree entirely with all the points that both Mr. Mulvihill and Mr. Lavelle have made. I will throw in a few extra bits and pieces.

In terms of engagement with EU institutions, both Mr. Mulvihill and I have written individually and jointly recently to EU Commission President von der Leyen, and indeed Vice-President Šefovi, drawing their attention specifically to this island of Ireland issue.

We have not had a response yet from President von der Leyen. We received a response from Vice-President Šefovi but I think he got the wrong end of the stick and we responded to him. In addition, through a Brexit business working group here in Northern Ireland, I have had one meeting with Vice-President Šefovi. I used the opportunity to highlight to him the importance of this island of Ireland issue and the need for the EU Commission to make a political decision that will, in effect, designate that mixed origin product as being EU which will then start to allow us to do the necessary work both on the free trade agreements and the dairy industry have accessing to the market support measures.

In terms of the impact, what Mr. Mulvihill has said is spot on. From a commercial point of view, one of the reasons for a free trade agreement is to give preferential access to a market, on a collaborative basis, in terms of quotas and tariffs. Without free trade agreements we are going to be at a competitive disadvantage when compared with other countries like New Zealand and the United States where they have free trade agreements and their companies have a competitive advantage in these markets.

Finally, Senator Byrne made an excellent point about the future marketing of food on the island of Ireland. It is one of these issues that raises its head from time to time and then disappears under the carpet again. We need to address this matter in our new environment. As Mr. Mulvihill has said, it is a single epidemiological unit. Ireland is Ireland once one goes into third countries.

I think that it would be terribly helpful if the Irish Government, for example, could take the initiative, provide leadership and establish a forum where we could actively start to consider this issue to see if there are opportunities for that sort of marketing approach that, let us be honest, will benefit producers and local communities throughout the island of Ireland in terms of improving the revenue that we gain from export markets. That is a very valid point that is worth pursuing.