Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

----- which is a good thing. We will be judged on our performance in terms of its delivery come the next general election. The country faces an unprecedented national economic emergency but this Government has the determination and resolve to restore the country's economic well-being, our international reputation and, most importantly, the pride of our people. The people have voted for significant change and we intend to deliver that.

The Taoiseach has already attended his first European Council meeting and defended this country's economic interest. Later this week I will attend my first EU Agriculture Council meeting and I intend to take the opportunity to set out our position in regard to the future of CAP. I will also develop contacts with colleague Ministers on which I can build a relationship to ensure Irish interests are heard, in terms of EU policy and WTO negotiations, from an Irish agriculture, agrifood and fisheries perspective.

Our programme for Government clearly identifies that Ireland's economic recovery must be export-led and the Government is committed to taking a number of actions to achieve the maximum growth in our exports, including the long-term development of new markets. As Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food, I want to see the agrifood and marine sectors being centre stage in that economic recovery. This Government intends to grow those sectors and reposition them at the centre of Irish economic activity.

There is enormous potential for growth in the agrifood and marine sectors and I intend to ensure that potential is realised. These indigenous sectors are hugely important, not alone to the Irish economy but also to thousands of rural and coastal communities throughout the country which do not have alternative job prospects should the agricultural and fisheries industries not exist. The fisheries industry is responsible for more 150,000 jobs with an annual output of around €24 billion. The agrifood industry accounts for 10% of total exports and last year exports of the agrifood and drinks industry grew by 11% to almost €8 billion.

I intend to take an active, hands-on approach to the delivery of the Food Harvest 2020 targets, which our programme for Government intends to strongly support. I acknowledge that the document was put together by the previous Government and is a policy worth pursuing. The targets set out are challenging and ambitious, but this Government is not without ambition. We must be ambitious if we are to realise our potential.

I intend to drive the implementation process across all the sectors in the coming years and I will chair an early meeting of the high level implementation committee to focus on the three key issues of competitiveness, innovation and upskilling. The strategy very usefully outlines the challenges that face the sector and emphasises the importance of increasing technology adoption and improving competitiveness at farm level. There also must be an increased focus on the consumer and together we must develop a coherent market strategy for Irish food and drink products. Teagasc will have a key role to play in creating and disseminating new knowledge to augment the profitability and sustainability of the Irish agrifood industry.

In our programme for Government, we are committed to the development of a single brand for the Irish agrifood sector globally. Bord Bia will have an important role to play in this regard, working in co-operation with producers and small businesses to develop value-added Irish food brands. Later this week, I will go to Paris to support Bord Bia's efforts to promote Irish food and drink in France and across Europe. Bord Bia has been proactive in its promotion and development of markets for Irish produce and through its 2010 Pathways initiative it made a significant contribution to the Food Harvest 2020 process.

While Food Harvest 2020 sets out a road map for the growth of the seafood sector and includes a number of key recommendations that are critical for delivering on the substantial potential of the sector, the Government is also committed to putting in place an Irish seafood strategy to develop Ireland as a European hub for seafood processing and to grow market profile and demand for seafood products. Bord lascaigh Mhara will be tasked with assisting Irish companies in adding value to products through innovation.

I am convinced that there is a tremendous opportunity to significantly grow our aquaculture sector and I want to see obstacles to that growth eliminated. Ireland currently produces 50,000 tonnes of aquaculture products and we are well placed to benefit from strong global demand for such products, including fin fish, such as salmon, and shellfish, which includes everything from mussels to oysters. Aquaculture is a labour intensive industry, providing high value added products. The expansion of aquaculture will result in job creation in peripheral coastal communities and will drive the expansion of the seafood processing industry through increased raw material supply. Our Government will support the development of sustainable aquaculture and fish farms by streamlining the licensing process and reducing associated bureaucracy, which to date has not been performing as it should.

My aim for the agrifood and fisheries sectors is ambitious and I want to see the commitments in the programme for Government being delivered upon. I want those sectors to take their place at the heart of domestic economic policy and as key drivers for economic growth and renewal. In an international context, I intend to defend Ireland's interests and to ensure we secure a strong, well-financed CAP and that, in the context of the review of the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, we secure the best possible deal for Irish fishermen and the processing sector.

At this week's Agriculture Council, I very much look forward to meeting the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development and I intend to set up a meeting in the coming weeks with Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to outline our views on CFP. Irish agriculture and the agrifood sector has always shown itself to be resilient and has overcome many challenges in the past. It has demonstrated a capacity to adapt and to innovate but it has not always received the recognition it deserves, in particular over the past decade.

In some ways it became fashionable in Ireland for the media and policy makers to focus on the so-called more exciting elements of the Irish economy, such as the smart economy, IT and construction, where there was a quick buck to be made and new companies were coming to Ireland to set up. In many ways, the importance of agriculture, the agrifood sector, fisheries and fish processing to Ireland was not prioritised as it should have been through the boom years.

We now see the importance of the sector and while Ireland is in recession, we see agriculture and the agrifood sector as providing the good news story that the economy needs at the moment, in terms of job creation and export growth. The agrifood sector is now the most important indigenous industry in terms of potential growth and job creation, even in the midst of a very difficult recessionary period.

I am privileged to be entrusted with the role of Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food. I am looking forward to ensuring that my Department provides the kind of reform and ambition that can fulfil the potential our country has as a food producer. The targets under Food Harvest 2020 are ambitious. We plan to increase output in Ireland by one third and to increase dairy and fish output by 50% by 2020. We currently employ 150,000 people in the sector and tens of thousands more jobs can be created in the next five years. I look forward to working with all my colleagues in the House, on this side and on the other side, to make those ambitions a reality.

See this speech in context