Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is probably hearing every minute of every day about the challenge the agrifood sector is facing. He is well aware of the fear in the agricultural community about Brexit. We are looking across the water virtually every hour of every day but one still does not know what is going to happen next. Three years ago, when we first heard the rumblings about Brexit, none of us ever thought it would occur. We thought there would be some way out. One begins to wonder now whether there is a way out. We see different variations of scenarios in the House of Commons and we begin to think it will happen. Then, all of a sudden, some part of the jigsaw does not fit into place and we are back to square one. There is such turmoil in the British political system that it will end up in a general election there.

Beef sector exports to England alone are worth in excess of €2.5 billion. In my part of the country, beef suckler schemes are important. The reality is that the sector has been under enormous difficulty for quite some time. There is the beef plan movement. We have all gone to the meetings where hundreds of farmers have said that, without Brexit, they are already under pressure. One has to welcome the fact the beef scheme is up and running. Fianna Fáil pushed for it for some time. However, the €40 per head is not doing anything and it has to be upped to €200 if the sector is to have any chance of survival. Looking at the Irish Farmers' Journaland other farming publications, one will note the poor price for calves in many marts.

Deputy McConalogue referred to the horticulture sector which has not been spoken about much. I know a bit about it because I studied it in college. We need to have a discussion about this as it has suffered much in recent years. It is an area we should be trying to expand through new schemes. There was great talk some time ago about import substitution. It is an area which we should tackle with a view to increasing domestic and export production.

There has been a phenomenal rise in food exports. As the Minister stated in his opening statement, between 2009 and 2018, it has increased from €7.8 billion to €13.9 billion. One has to acknowledge Bord Bia and others working in the sector. However, there is much more we can do. In that regard, it is good that almost 30% of agrifood exports go to non-EU countries. We are going to have to work harder on this, however. That is why I welcome the proposal of appointing agrifood attachés to countries to promote selling our products. One has to acknowledge the work done in the Chinese market. Every percent of trade one gains in such a large country with such a large population is worth a lot. However, there is still a long way to go.

We should give some credit to the former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, for this. He and his officials brought forward Food Harvest 2020, which is where much of that planning started.

The Minister spoke of countries such as Mexico, South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. At one stage - perhaps still - Japan took much of our pig meat. Deputy Cahill spoke about that sector. The pig meat producers in this country have been through very tough years. Will the Minister update me at some stage about markets and new markets in those countries because they will become very important, particularly if a no-deal Brexit occurs.

I refer to trade missions. There is always a big brouhaha here about people going abroad for St. Patrick's Day for trade missions. It is a very important part of selling Ireland. No matter who is in power, politicians and officials, when they go to celebrate with the Irish in other parts of the world, many of the deputations take in trade missions. On many occasions they are very productive and open up new markets, maybe not immediately but in time.

The beef scheme is oversubscribed. Will the Minister assure me that all applicants will be looked after, because that is very important?

There is no doubt that our biggest trading partner in agribusiness is Britain. Recently I saw a figure of €6 billion, and there is €4 billion in imports. Someone said that compared with years ago, a smaller amount of material is exported to great Britain now but the agrisector is the important one for us here, and it is crucial for rural Ireland. That is why there is genuine worry throughout the country about the result of Brexit. Everyone here, regardless what side of the House they sit on, hopes that there will not be a crash out, which I fear from the way things are going. UK tariffs will pose a €1.7 billion threat to the agrifood sector. That will be some challenge. We should also bear in mind that if that happens, the price of basic food items in this country such as bread, milk, cheese, and eggs will increase. That will cause serious inflation here. The fallout would be very bad and there is no doubt that the beef and agrisector would be decimated by a crash-out, no-deal Brexit. World Trade Organization, WTO, tariffs will cost the beef sector alone around €800 million. Thinking of that kind of money sends a shiver down the spine.

In my part of the country, taking the counties around me such as Roscommon, Galway, Longford, Leitrim, Cavan, Offaly and Clare, there has been a great development in the food business. There are food chains which employ between, say, five and 20 people. Their markets are Ireland North and South, England, Wales and Scotland. They will be wiped out if we have a crash out. They will be destroyed and it will cost thousands of jobs. It is very important that we protect our very best in those businesses as they will be under severe pressure. Some of them are very good labels but their markets do not extend outside the British Isles. These are not big conglomerates such as Glanbia, Dairygold or the Kerry Group which have world markets. It is one thing when one has a world market but it is different for small processors. I refer specifically to the cheese business and yoghurt which have become huge. They will be very badly affected.

It is a worrying situation for us all, and I acknowledge that it is not simple for the Minister's side of the House either, because we do not know what is going to happen across the water, but we must have more preparation.

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