Ms Tara McCarthy:

With regard to our client base, every company that manufactures in the Republic of Ireland is a client base of Bord Bia. Whether it is foreign direct investment or indigenously owned is irrelevant to us. What we require is that it is manufacturing here or is working with product that is manufactured here, so if it outsources its production to another manufacturer in Ireland, we will also treat them as a separate client.

We work in partnership with Enterprise Ireland. We do not have the high potential start-up remit within that space, but when we created Food Works it was to support Enterprise Ireland to create a better flow through of high potential start-ups in food. When we looked at that area in 2010 our figures showed that there were approximately 100 high potential start-ups coming through every year, be that in medical, pharmacy or technology, but there were only two or three coming from the food industry. We felt that was challenging because food is our largest indigenous industry. While traditionally we work with every company on a needs basis, we created a programme specifically for new start-ups under the working title of Food Works. That is where we gather the intensive programme of help for that. However, Enterprise Ireland will work with other high potential start-ups outside of Food Works.

Regarding jobs, we do not measure jobs, only exports. Enterprise Ireland measures the jobs and we would not seek duplication with it. It has a remit in that area while ours is very much directed at looking for exports from Ireland. We do that through working with the client companies and also with the Central Statistics Office, CSO, to measure where we are going, and that will influence where we put our offices, where we have our spaces and where we have our services focused. The Deputy will have seen from our strategy that we have a very strong remit both in exports and also in ensuring we have a vibrant home market. As far as we are concerned, a vibrant home market is an essential feed into getting an export orientated industry as well.