Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The agrifood sector is of critical importance to the Irish economy. Its regional spread means it underpins the socioeconomic development of rural areas in particular.

Ambitious plans under the Food Wise 2025 strategy could see the creation of 23,000 jobs and a growth in the value of exports by 85% over the next decade.

Enterprise Ireland works closely with Irish food and drink companies to support innovation and to build scale and resilience for them to be positioned to compete on world markets.

I have secured additional funding for Enterprise Ireland to respond to Brexit. This includes 39 additional staff with sectoral knowledge and expertise.

While Enterprise Ireland is the development agency for companies in the food and drink sector in Ireland, Bord Bia under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for working with such companies to access overseas markets.

The UK remains a key market. Enterprise Ireland is working closely with Bord Bia to help Irish food and drink companies to build on their international reputation for product excellence and to drive growth in other key markets such as the eurozone, Canada, the US and Asia.

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