Mr. Padraig Brennan:

The Deputy's point that we have to compete on quality is correct. That holds whether we are talking about organic or conventional food, drink and horticultural products from Ireland. The only future for the sector is to compete on quality and get as much of our product as we can into the premium segment of different markets.

On the level of expenditure, every support and service that Bord Bia has is open to organic companies the same way it is to a conventional food and drink companies. At the moment, we work with about 100 organic companies annually as part of that. Our marketing and promotional support for the organic sector in 2021 was about €1 million. That figure has increased by a quarter over the last three years. We hope to be in a position to increase that further over the next number of years. Our total marketing and promotional budget this year is about €48 million. That is the magnitude that is there.

I have to challenge the Deputy on the Q Mark not being recognised. In the work we do talking to consumers about the Quality Mark, their acceptance and trust in it consistently comes through as being the highest level of trust in any mark on our product on the Irish market. It has the highest propensity of consumers likely to purchase a product carrying the Q Mark. There is a lot of credibility and equity behind the Quality Mark. That is not to say the organic marks and labels are not valuable. They are, for consumers buying those organic products.

On assistance for those looking to export organic products, there is a number of elements we work on. It starts with market understanding. We share data and information we have on various markets and help prospective exporters figure out where opportunities might exist for them. The second part comes down to business development, including potential leads and potential customers. We help them identify that at the likes of the BIOFACH trade fair, when we are allowed to attend it again next year. We will be undertaking a lead generation project over the summer months and into the autumn on the German market. We are trying to help the industry find opportunities and get closer to potential buyers and, where there is existing business, to help grow it, whether by promoting organic beef in the Dutch or German markets, organic lamb on the Irish market or organic seafood in France, Germany, etc. That is a big element of it.

In terms of capability, my colleague, Mr. Bourke, is leading an organic plant raiser project. It has come out of Brexit. There is an opportunity for growers to raise young plants that was not there previously. It is about building capability on the ground and providing the skill set to help them do that. Four demo farm sites or locations have been established and we will have a series of open days, while respecting Covid restrictions, for other growers to learn from the approach. There is a number of elements we focus on.

On the number of animals being lost to the organic sector prior to final processing, the Chairman mentioned three in four organic lambs. That is the best information we have. We are undertaking an organic survey on sheep farms with the organic bodies so we will have an updated figure in July. It is less when it comes to organic cattle but the best estimate we have is that around 40% are leaking from the sector.