Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

What we are about is winning that reputation by providing data, back-up and science to support our claims. That is tedious work in terms of going on to farms, crunching the numbers with farmers and being able to back up everything we say. That is the type of work that is ongoing at present. Added to that, we are trying to build a PR brand around the attractive imagery that should be coming from all the hard work we are doing around building that reputation. The brand attached to Irish food is essentially a promise that when one buys Irish food, whether it be Jameson Whiskey or a nutritional drink from the Carbery Group, one associates it with quality, top quality food science, safety and sustainability. They are the buzz words we are trying to build into one message. I would be hopeful that by mid-summer we will have a logo that tries to represent all those things. Bord Bia is working hard on it. It is, however, difficult to decide whether we should have a punchy, strong brand or whether we should have a watermark that covers the existing strong brands because Irish brands are already very strong in some areas, particularly in the drink side. Bord Bia wants to get that message right and wants buy-in from the industry. I hope we will have a logo to go with the message by the end of the summer.

People have raised their concerns about the GM issue and Teagasc has responded comprehensively to the concerns raised in the Irish Farmers Journal last week. I do not know if the Deputy had a chance to read it.

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