Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)

The agriculture and agrifood industry is undoubtedly among Ireland's most important indigenous industries. According to the Irish Farmers Association, 38% of all households are located in rural Ireland. One in four of those households is an agricultural household. This industry is vital and must be supported. Despite the growth in exports in 2009, the number of people engaged in agriculture fell by 40% by comparison with the 2007 number. Employment in the food and drink processing industry fell by 10,000. The challenge faced by policy makers is to develop a sustainable strategy that enables the agriculture and agrifood industry to grow over the next decade. The Food Harvest 2020 programme reflects this aim. The comprehensive nature of the programme reflects the Government's commitment to improving exports in all sectors of the industry. The Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, aims to increase the value of agrifood and drink exports by 3% this year. The aims of the Food Harvest 2020 programme are welcome.

I would like to address the development of labelling and the traceability of food. According to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, which monitors this country's food traceability and labelling regulations, in general terms food labels are not supposed to mislead the consumer. A general requirement of the regulations on the labelling on products is that the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs must be clear and unambiguous and must not mislead the consumer to a material degree. The term "labelling" refers to any word, particulars, trade mark, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to a foodstuff that is placed on any packaging, documentation or label accompanying the foodstuff. Labels must be easy to understand and clearly legible. If a product is being sold in Ireland, the label must be in English with the option of Irish. While this is all well and good, as a consumer I continue to be confused by labelling at times. If I see that a product has a label that says "guaranteed Irish", I may decide to buy it. If I turn the product around and read the detail on the reverse, however, in many instances I will learn that the product is not made in Ireland. It might be just 50% Irish. Where do consumers stand on such issue?

The rules of the Guaranteed Irish organisation provide that any product or service in respect of which at least 50% of the adding of value took place in Ireland can qualify to be deemed as "guaranteed Irish". In the case of services, the award criterion is that the company must have majority Irish ownership and must be creating employment in Ireland. The only terms or phrases that seem to mean what they say on the tin are "free range", "traditional free range", "organic" and, in some instances, "fresh". These terms are protected by legislation and inspectors are employed by the State to inspect possible cases of fraud. Why is the same thing not done to protect the origin of foodstuffs? As the regulations state, we should have clear and unambiguous labelling that does not mislead me and other consumers. Why should a person who runs into a supermarket to get something for his or her dinner have to read the equivalent of an essay on the reverse of the package to make sure what they are buying is Irish?

We need to work with the Minister for Health, who has overall responsibility for general food labelling, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland to ensure customers know where their food is coming from. If a chicken kiev originated in the UK but was processed in Ireland, that should be made fully clear on its packaging. Under the EU general labelling directive, the place of origin of a foodstuff must be given only if its absence might mislead the consumer to a material degree. Under EU legislation, specific country of origin labelling is only required in the case of beef, unprocessed poultry and fruit and vegetables. This is all well and good, but it needs to be much clearer. We need to make it so clear and unambiguous that there can be no doubt in my mind as a consumer where each product comes from. We need to make Irish labels stick in consumers' heads and make shopping for Irish goods as easy as possible. That is essential for the continued success of the Irish goods market.

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