Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the witnesses for their presentation. It is a very successful story and we need it. I understand Enterprise Ireland's remit, as Senator Daly said, is totally based on exports. A lot of small companies and small farmers can produce their own cheese, etc., but they are not given any help. I understand why Enterprise Ireland is into export because the more you export, the cheaper the money you can get on the global market. We know exactly what that is based on. On the other side, we should develop far more home-grown. We have really fallen down. In my area, people approached me who were engineers who were starting up a business. They were going to hire ten or 12 people but they got no help because they were not exporting. Perhaps that is a policy Enterprise Ireland could examine.

Is there any scope for sourcing a market for lambs that exceed 21 kg? The witness spoke about opening up other markets. What is the situation with the US and Chinese markets? What exactly are we at in that regard? Australia and New Zealand are our major competitors. At the moment, they only use around 70% of their quota. Do we have anything to counteract that in the future? Are we looking at something that could counteract that? Have we developed in Asian countries, which are very fond of lamb? It is part of their culture. Has Enterprise Ireland looked into that issue?