Mr. Larry Murrin:

My role as chair is, with the board, to look at the strategy Bord Bia deploys around its goals. Bord Bia does not formulate goals for itself or for the wider sector out of thin air. They are based on real feedback, based on real facts, coming from real stakeholders in the industry and real markets where opportunities exist. Bord Bia is extremely good at defining the shape of those markets and the challenges that are associated with them. My objective as chair is to work with the board to support the executive to deliver on those goals.

The calibre of people who have been engaged on the board is a testament to Bord Bia. I am very honoured to have an opportunity to be added to that list.

In my opening statement, I said I had been involved in the sector for more than 40 years. Bord Bia has been a pretty critical part of the insights, education and knowledge we have gleaned and the relationships we have formed over 30 of those 40 years. That is true of many companies. They have a resource and their objective in providing pathways for the industry to grow is to have the kinds of resources and knowledge available to industry that make the journey as free of obstacles as possible. No journey to grow is obstacle-free. These are significant things. Regardless of whether companies are making whiskey or ready meals, cutting beef to customer specifications or making hamburgers for a global restaurant chain, those deep insights are really valuable. Bord Bia has become a very important education and innovation resource in that area. As chair, I want to encourage that activity, with the board, to continue to grow and foster it wherever we can. I will do that very actively with the chief executive and his team and my fellow board members.