Seanad debates
Wednesday, 15 October 2003
Fishery Policy: Statements.
I was impressed by some of the figures the Minister of State gave, of which I had no idea. He said that in 1979, four tonnes were exported while in 2002, there were 62,000 tonnes of exports. That is a huge increase and a great success. The fact that 90% of seafood is exported reminds us how much has been done and achieved. Let us make sure we are careful and do not take chances. The opportunities are there. Even with what seem to be large figures, we have only touched that market. I was in the United States last week and visited a number of supermarkets. One of the things for which I look are Irish products. When I went to the salmon department, I was delighted to see Irish salmon. I did not see much of it but I saw Norwegian salmon. Norway has a longer coastline than Ireland and it is perhaps longer in the business than we are, but its population is the same. Therefore, if Norway is able to export in such a successful manner, it is a reminder to us of what we can achieve. However, we will not achieve that by taking shortcuts. It will be a long haul and we will have to be careful and make sure confidence in quality, taste and food safety is in no way damaged. If we risk that confidence, we place all of this in danger.
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