Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The short-term impacts for some, particularly smaller producers, will be on their survival and the flexibility of a loan scheme will be important. The smaller the producer, the less expertise they will have available to them. It will probably be about keeping the show on the road for small niche producers. The requirement for proximity to the market for fresh food producers means there is a high dependency on the UK. Has the Minister evaluated the flexibility of the loan scheme and examined its availability or the uptake of it by smaller suppliers in the sector? We all understand there are likely to be controls and checks at borders, and this infrastructure must be put in place, but looking at it from a producer's perspective, what contingency plans are in place for the survival of smaller producers?

See this speech in context