Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 5: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine the degree to which he intends to seek support for his position and proposals on Common Agriculture Policy reform throughout the other EU member states in view of the fundamental nature of the food industry in Europe and the extent to which Europe can naturally meet the ever increasing demand for food; if he will endeavour to ensure that the industry in Europe is not undermined in the context of other agreements in the context of the World Trade Organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31733/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Food security in the European Union is the essence of what the new Common Agricultural Policy is about.

Growing populations and increasing demand for protein-based foods, which is what we predominantly produce in Ireland through the dairy and meat industries, present a significant opportunity not only to continue, as the EU has been, to promote a sustainable way of producing food from an environmental and climate point of view but also to produce greater volumes of food. We in Ireland have a blueprint to do that in the form of Food Harvest 2020. By 2020, we plan to produce 50% more milk in volume terms and to increase the value of beef exports by 40%. Likewise, we also plan for expansion and growth in the poultry, pig, sheepmeat and lamb sectors, and we have the capacity to do so.

In the recent past, CAP policy has been about deliberately restricting production in order to keep prices officially high within the EU as compared with prices outside the Union. That argument is no longer relevant because the increased demand for food has put prices outside the Union more or less on a par with internal prices. I will continue to make the case for sustainable intensification of food production, which is what agriculture should be all about.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. Has he identified those member states within the Union upon which he can rely in the pursuit of his policy, which is entirely laudable and something with which we all would agree? To what extent can he rely on their support given the many competing demands that currently arise and will arise in the context of the WTO negotiations and bearing in mind what he said in his reply regarding the importance of the food industry to Europe as a whole and the capacity of Europe to make a major contribution to continuity and security of supply worldwide?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In regard to food security within the European Union and the need to protect our capacity to produce large volumes of high-quality food in this country, there are potential threats in the context of WTO negotiations and other bilateral trade agreements which are currently on the table. For example, Mercosur, the South American trade bloc of which Brazil and Argentina are the two largest members, is currently in ongoing negotiations with the European Union with a view to producing and selling more produce for export into the European Union with fewer restrictions, in return for which certain EU exports, predominantly financial services and manufactured products, will gain access to South American markets. From an Irish perspective, this presents threats of which we must be wary. Given that our largest food export is beef, the prospect of significantly increased imports of high-value beef from countries such as Brazil is a cause for concern. However, for a whole series of reasons, any deal on Mercosur has been put off for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the overall thrust of the Deputy's point is correct. Several countries are very similar to Ireland in their thinking on this issue. There are also countries which are far more protectionist in their outlook in terms of food production and cross-border trade.

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am interested in the Minister's observations on two aspects of the current proposal for the next phase of the Common Agricultural Policy. First, the indications are that suckler cow herd numbers in the country are on a downward trend, which may well have to do with the economics of rearing calves in this manner. There are consequences if that decline were to continue in that the supply lines for the beef industry would be affected in a relatively short period. The proposals are not very compatible with the promotion and development of the suckler cow herd.

The second issue relates to entitlements established in 2011 and preceding years. In family settlement situations, for instance, a farm owner with attached entitlements may decide to allocate part of the land and entitlements to two or three family members. Will those family members establish entitlements within the context of the new proposals in terms, for example, of being able to avail of the land-based support as proposed?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I share the Deputy's concern in regard to the suckler cow herd. As the excitement grows in advance of 2015 regarding the potential of the dairy industry, there is a danger, if we are not careful, that in parts of the country where dairy has real potential the beef herd could become a by-product of the dairy herd, which is not at all what we want. Currently, half of the beef sold out of Ireland comes from the dairy herd and half from the suckler herd. All of the high-end, high-value product comes from suckler herds. We must keep that intact.

That is the basis on which I am seeking to protect and defend the suckler cow welfare scheme in the build-up to a difficult budget. We must send a strong signal that we will support the suckler herd financially, if necessary, in order to keep it intact, particularly for those farmers who are producing higher quality beef, as are the approximately 30,000 who are in the welfare scheme and the beef quality assurance scheme that goes with it. We will continue to pursue policies that counteract a reduction in the size of the suckler herd. Ireland's beef exports are expected to decline to 460,000 tonnes this year from 500,000 in 2010. While the value of beef exports is rising as a consequence of increasing beef prices, the volume has decreased slightly, which is something we must address. It is a similar story in terms of sheep and lamb, although lamb prices are starting to decrease.