Ms Tara McCarthy:

In response to Senator Mac Lochlainn, I want to flag that there is not a difference. Origin Green is pro or anti anything on organic. Organic is part of the membership of Origin Green. It is not some sort of system to drive organic behaviour or to take organic clothes or anything like that. They are two very different initiatives with regard to the certification behind it and the production systems involved.

On the research the Senator has done on the different co-operative models with regard to organic, we have done a lot of work and we work with the organic section of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to ensure the promotions we run within the organic sector and the research we do for the organic sector are keeping that sector informed. In many of the sectors Ireland plays in a very small niche when we look overseas. As I mentioned earlier, salmon is the only category we would have any volume of organic exports. We do a lot of work on the home market to help organic producers to understand the route to market for organic food. We have done a lot of work on farmers' markets in particular to ensure they are able to communicate the value of what they offer within their organic range and to assure where possible they can get that premium for their product. We commit resources to it, but it is very much in partnership with the organic section of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Funds are ring-fenced specifically for organics and specific work programmes are designed in partnership with the organic industry.

With regard to Brexit, we obviously have huge concern on the Border issues. We are an agency with a remit for 26 counties. We are not an all-Ireland agency. Therefore, we clearly bias our services towards the companies producing in the Twenty-six Counties. Obviously anybody who is not producing in the Republic of Ireland will say that we are not giving them a service. While that is true, our remit is towards the counties that are producing here in the Republic of Ireland.