Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Aire Stáit. A couple of really interesting points have been raised but, considering the difficulty that Covid-19 presented to trade missions, we are only scratching at the surface of the potential of a wide range of new markets. I would like to ask about co-ordination and co-operation between Bord Bia and the Department of Foreign Affairs. I am referring to the notion of Ireland House model, whereby officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the traditional agriculture counsellor, and officials from Bord Bia could work with Tourism Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Irish embassies to realise all the opportunities, particularly in the agrifood export sector.

I would like to tease out the opportunities associated with existing and potential trade deals involving Irish agrifood exporters. In this regard, we are talking about the roll-over, the deal with Mexico and the opportunities relating to desiccated milk. We are also talking about the opportunities presented by the huge trade deal with Japan, as the Minister of State mentioned, and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada.

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