Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the final question, it has never been more important to have a blueprint for the industry. Food Wise 2025 was intended to be an identification of the major roadblocks that were holding back the industry's capacity to meet its true potential, whether in the area of research and development, human capital or whatever. The programme has been rebuilt every number of years, and we are beginning the process of examining its next iteration and the challenges of the future. While Brexit is one challenge, the international trading environment, sustainability and so on are also challenges. Food Wise 2025 is a living document and it will be reappraised, but it has never been more relevant to identify the challenges and systematically dismantle them in a focused way.

The UK market will always be of great importance for us, and geography should always be a major determiner of where we trade. It is the biggest market on our doorstep and it is the one we understand most for cultural and historical reasons. Although the future trading relationship will be different when the UK is a third country, that is, outside the European Union, and we will have costs that we do not now incur, it should nonetheless always remain our major trading partner. It accounts for somewhat less than 40% of exports now, but I hope the hard-won space that we have on British supermarket shelves can be maintained, which is partly why we regularly engage with our retail partners, as I said I will do later. I recently returned from a trade mission in Indonesia. New embassies are important and Bord Bia is part of that global footprint.

See this speech in context