Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Tá lúcháir orm a bheith ar ais sa Seanad aríst agus páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht seo. Gabhaim mo bhuíochas as ucht an mhéid a bhí le rá ag na Seanadóirí, is cuma cén áit a bhfuil siad ina suí.

I will deflect from my script on a number of issues if Senators do not mind. Agriculture is central to the economic and social life of this country. By and large, the Common Agricultural Policy has had a positive impact on Irish farming. Apart from the support and market opportunities it provides, it encapsulates a vision of agriculture that the Government, the farming sector and society in general share strongly. This is centred on sustainable family farming, protecting the rural environment and providing safe food. This is the basis on which the sector merits strong public support.

The agrivision plan of action is based on a well-founded belief that the Irish agrifood sector, including our farmers and food and drinks manufacturers, can compete with the best in the world when that objective is pursued with sufficient focus, determination and skill. The plan is, in part, our response to the report of the Agri-Vision 2015 committee, chaired by Alan Dukes, which comprised some of the most senior figures in the sector, including leaders of the farming and industry organisations. It also takes account of material from a wide variety of other reports and sources including the enterprise strategy group.

The plan sets out a view for the future of the sector in light of the major changes now impacting on it. These changes arise from a number of sources, including significant shift over the past 15 years in EU policy from market supports to coupled payment and now to decoupled payments. The Senator is referring to decoupling.

Changes in EU and international trade policy have increased competition on EU and world markets. Lifestyle changes have shifted the focus of people in developed markets to food products with greater quality, nutritional and convenience value. The emergence of technology and research and development are significant factors driving innovation and competitive advantage in increasingly sophisticated food and drinks markets. The major changes in Ireland due to our rising prosperity have transformed the labour market and led to significant changes in food preferences and in the structures of farming and retailing.

These are important changes and they contain major challenges for the sector, but they also create market opportunities for producers and firms which can identify and take advantage of them. The question arises of how to respond to these changes in order to take advantage of those opportunities. This plan directs us to focus on three key points: competitiveness, innovation and consumer-focused marketing. The agrifood sector exports most of its products, therefore competitiveness is not optional but is the primary objective on which this plan is based.

Innovation is also important. The modern food industry is a sophisticated knowledge-based sector in which technological progress and product innovation are unremitting. Meeting the consumer's expectations on product, presentation and price is critical to continuing success.

Our vision for success is therefore focused on the objective of ensuring that the agrifood sector compares with the best in the EU and in the world in terms of knowledge base, competitiveness, innovation and marketing. Actions are required under each of these headings. There are over 160 such actions, a few of which I will mention this evening. The future of the sector will be decided by its capacity to meet the demands of modern European consumers.

Consumers require guarantees on food safety. State agencies provide world class, effective food safety systems backed up by robust traceability systems. Food safety standards are the responsibility of everybody in the food chain, private and public. There is now an increased consumer focus on food quality, nutritional value and ethical production and we must move our production systems to meet that demand. We will ensure that consumers will have "country of origin" information on beef products and, as soon as possible, on other meat products. We will also revamp and relaunch the school milk scheme. The operation of the consumer panel will be reviewed and strengthened to ensure that an up-to-date consumer viewpoint is available on all Department activities.

The food industry spends only 0.3% of sales on research and development. This must change. The food industry is a high-tech sector and we must recognise this change in our investment patterns. The enterprise strategy group also identified this issue. Ireland has built up considerable research and development capability in functional foods. The consumer emphasis on health and nutrition will encourage growth in the functional food and ingredients sector. I have increased, not reduced, the amount of funding provided to Teagasc by 10%.