Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome all our guests and thank them for taking time out from what is a pivotal moment for the future direction of Irish food. The next number of hours, days and weeks will have a huge impact on the agri-food sector in the broadest sense. I will try to be as brief as possible with my questions because a number of speakers want to come in and there are questions with the Minister shortly in the Dáil.

My first question is for both ICOS and Dairy Industry Ireland. In their submissions, they indicated a number of schemes and supports that are required in order to support their industry, particularly in a no-deal scenario. I take it that a number of them will be required even if there is a free trade deal because that would not be as free as what is currently there. I see proposals relating to export credit insurance, labelling and existing and future EU trade agreements. Considering that we are a month from the deadline and the issue of Brexit has been going on since 2016, to be generous, how far on are we in respect of these proposals? In other words, are the witnesses confident that the measures their sectors need have been put in place by the Government and the European Union in order to protect them?

My next question is for Meat Industry Ireland. One of the biggest fears I hear is that farmers will be caught in the middle and the outworkings of Brexit will be manipulated as regards prices. What measures is Meat Industry Ireland putting in place to protect the prices it pays farmers going forward? What reorganisation measures is it putting in place in order to ensure the stream of Irish food that comes through its factories is sold on the international market to garner the best possible price, and that that price is in turn passed on to the farmers, the primary producers? I refer in particular to the short-term implications. Can we be assured, come January, that we will not see a severe drop in the prices being received from factories?

As regards the structure of the meat sector, and considering the sizeable potential impact Brexit could bring about, have there been any discussions at a macro level within Meat Industry Ireland about the industry playing a patriotic role and contributing back to our society? Do Meat Industry Ireland's member companies intend to remove the structures whereby they are registered in places like Luxembourg and other third countries and revert back to Ireland? Meat Industry Ireland's opening statement mentioned that the sector directly employs 16,000 people. Of course, every job is welcome. Of those 16,000 people, how many are employed by agencies? Does the organisation intend to encourage its members to redirect their emphasis so that these workers are directly employed in meat plants in our communities?