Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

The reduction in milk output is a concern. The Department and successive Governments have always been very supportive of the dairy sector. Obviously, it is the jewel in the crown in economic terms. Livestock numbers in the dairy sector are levelling off and there was a very small reduction last year. Therefore, the reduction in output is not an issue of livestock numbers. Over the past couple of years, it has been a weather issue, and maybe an input costs issue. There have been extraordinary events over the past few years that have given rise to increases in input costs. What has happened up to now has not been on the basis of some dramatic reduction in livestock numbers. The Senator did not suggest this, but it might be inferred by people listening.

The Department will continue to support the sector through investment and TAMS, which will be discussed later. In the context of Brexit, we made funding available for the processing sector to diversify away from the UK, and that is being used by some in the sector. These supports will remain in place. One of the things we have to do, which we have mentioned, is invest in research and innovation, and also consider value added. Realistically, the days of dramatically expanding output will be limited by our climate obligations, but there is potential for adding value. Of course, we also have an international trade dimension to our function. We are going to China in September and were in South Korea earlier in the year, so we are working hard to try to develop new markets for our dairy output. I do not believe there is any question about the Department’s support for the dairy sector. That will continue.