Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the points that have been made by the Deputy. As my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Creed, mentioned in an earlier response, he is going to London again to meet his UK counterpart, Andrea Leadsom. He has made several similar trips to meet the chief executives of the various retail multiples that sell Irish produce on to consumers. These multiples are our customers in our biggest market. The reality is that if they do not buy into the problems we are encountering as a result of the fluctuations in the value of sterling, a solution that will work in the long term cannot be found. I think that has been recognised. The Department is working closely with the various players, including some of the major players, to develop a long-term strategy that will provide some kind of mudguard against this kind of fluctuation in the future. It will not be easy to develop such a strategy in the absence of a stark realisation on the part of our purchasers in the UK that they need to act as well. That is why such an effort is being made to reaffirm to them the point that they must make a gesture that shows they are prepared to increase prices. Irish producers are doing everything right. They supply a product of the highest possible quality and they do so on time.

See this speech in context