Ms Niamh Brennan:

To look at the positive attributes, we have come a long way in horticulture. We are now at a point where we can change this if we get the retailers on board. An apprenticeship scheme was launched. The educational point is there through the apprenticeship scheme. As Mr. McCormack stated, if the financial incentives are in place, young people will come in and that is the mechanism through which they can be educated. There are on-farm practical aspects to the apprenticeship.

The markets are there. As regards import substitution, if there was 100% more Irish crop tomorrow morning, the markets would be there for it. That is not the issue, unlike in other sectors. The corporate policy of some of the discounters in particular is an issue. The annual tender is a pinch point and unless it is addressed, we will not have confidence. A five-year or six-year strategy is needed in order to allow growers or young people to buy into that. It should be kind of index-linked to one’s input costs. There would be a baseline figure linked to the cost of production. I do not wish to be overly negative. We want to be positive about it. We have many of the blueprints in place in our strategy but the retailer piece needs to come together to drive that on.