Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for his verbose answer and his advertising blurb for RTE. I appreciate the fact that Bord Bia and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs through the Leader programme are doing much to encourage farmers' markets. However, on the ground, many farmers' markets are striving — I will not say they are struggling — to boost their popularity locally. Much of this work is done through voluntary effort. While programmes are in place through Leader to help them, if some sort of direct support was made available to them for advertising through local media, it would be of great assistance to them.

Judging from the Minister of State's answer, he is not telling me that his Department necessarily will be directly responsible for that and I accept this point. I also accept the fact that there is serious potential within this country for the growth of local markets. Will the Minister of State consider the idea of direct finance for marketing and advertising?

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