Ms Caroline Bocquel:

There is no doubt but there are significant challenges there. The systemic issues in the system have been well articulated.

In respect of the question on food demand, there is enormous food demand. Aquaculture is the fastest growing protein sector in the world. For the first time last year the production of aquaculture outpaced the seafood coming from wild capture fisheries, which are stable globally. Obviously in Ireland we have had particularly bad news for 2026 but certainly globally, they are broadly remaining stable. So there is enormous potential for Ireland there not only as aquaculture producers but there is also the ability to premiumise our product. I have spoken previously to the committee about the phenomenal capacity we now have within our processing sector. The vast majority of our processors are multispecies processors that are able to process a lot of different species, obviously including salmon but also shellfish. There is an enormous opportunity for them globally with the investment that the State has made in 2022 and into 2023 under the Brexit adjustment reserve, BAR, funds. We now have one of the most modern processing sectors in Europe and we are seeing enormous ambition with these companies that are able to access the global demand in a way they could not previously. What they have is consistency of supply and are now able to provide the products in the formats their clients require at the pace and speed which they need.

Over 70% of all seafood consumed in Europe is imported. Importing is just a natural component of what is a very global seafood sector. We are growing a lot of food that we are processing here, we are exporting some and we are also importing it. There is huge opportunity with those global markets. France has been our number one export partner for the past number of years but we are working with Bord Bia to open new markets. For example, last year it opened a very strong market for us in Japan, and we are looking at other markets right across Asia but also in Europe. Europe is much easier for us to get to. We have very strong connections with Italy, for example, and we see lots of other opportunities there. Only 2% of the seafood that France imports is from Ireland, so, clearly, as a very close neighbour, there is very significant opportunity for us there. Again, it is a matter of working with Bord Bia to ensure we are really trying to capture some of those premium markets and add as much value as we possibly can to all the seafood we produce, whether we are catching and landing it, growing it in Ireland or importing it.