Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has got it wrong. The food sector is one of the sectors that is doing very well. If one looks at the employment numbers within Enterprise Ireland, it has grown by something like 4% in the past 12 months. This is a sector that is growing and it is building its strength on innovation, new green products and breaking open new markets. If one looks at the data, one will see that Irish food companies are winning markets in China, India and all across the globe. This is a sector that is being developed. Of course, as in any sector, some parts of it do well while some parts do not do so well. That is inevitable. I cannot stop the sort of change that has occurred. However, overall, food as a sector is doing very well.

See this speech in context