Mr. Larry Murrin:

Perhaps I could intuitively answer the last part of the Deputy's question first. In our industry there is a lot of emotion, ownership and authorship attached. There are many platforms under development that take advantage of technology but in my humble experience there will never be anything to replace a handshake and an introduction. I believe that trade shows in a physical sense internationally will continue to be a vital part of that platform in how we create new relationships. To translate the degree of ownership and emotion that is involved in food production, from farm level right the way through the various aspects of how it is processed, and the ownership of that process, there is no better vehicle than face to face.

I will now go back to some of the other points the Deputy touched on. Customers demand that we are able to demonstrate that the same rule applies right across the food production chain and that we - Ireland Inc., and not just Bord Bia - are pulling on the same rope and hopefully in the same direction. In that sense it is really important that we are able to answer the customer demand and that we have the technical advice available in our various resources, among which I include Bord Bia and the whole cohort of people involved in quality assurance schemes in Bord Bia, to enable even the smallest producer to find his or her niche on that ladder and get on board. That is really essential.