Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely will. The principal purpose of the trade forum is to bring representative groups and relevant Ministers, Departments and agencies around the table. I am pleased to say that a full and permanent member of the trade forum is our Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Heydon. Also represented on that are his senior officials, the Secretary General of the Department of agriculture and the chief executive of Bord Bia, which obviously has an important relevance to this discussion as well. The purpose here is to enable the trading and exchanging of information and insight so that when we go to Europe, we can best protect Irish interests, Irish businesses and Irish farmers. I find it already in its relatively short time in existence to be a very valuable forum in making sure that everybody involved in Team Ireland, if I can use that phrase, is putting their best foot forward. I have to be honest with people - this is a turbulent and difficult time. We cannot control what the President of the United States decides he is going to do, but we can try to intelligently respond and build alliances across the European Union, and to do that we need to get the best insights from industry and from relevant Ministers, including the Minister for agriculture.

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