Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Bradford for proposing this motion. My senior Minister, Deputy Coveney, cannot be present to answer and I have a written reply here which I will read. I know from where the Senator is coming. It is on the agenda in both Houses tonight. The one good story out there at present is agriculture, but we cannot sit on it. Prices are good for the first time in several years and, whether one is a big or small farmer, people are getting a fair price for their product. With 2020 coming and the opening up of the doors for production, every acre of Ireland will have a productive use, whether it is in beef, dairy, organics, vegetables or whatever. The senior Minister states clearly everywhere he goes that, since I have been appointed to work with him, we have worked to ensure that all farmers will be well protected and that, in particular, farmers who want to produce food are the ones who will be supported most. There will be no one paid to stay at home anymore because the money is not there.

I am very much aware of the leaks as well. There are two sides to the story and there will be a winner and a loser in it. Now is the time to talk about it. I am sure by the time we take over the Presidency there will be a formula for it because we know how the IFA and the Opposition will keep the pressure on us. We, in Fine Gael, will be ahead of the posse the whole time. That is our intention.

I welcome the opportunity to deal with this motion. As the Senator is well aware, agriculture and the wider agrifood sector remain one of Ireland's most important indigenous manufacturing sectors. Agriculture and the continued viability of the country's 128,000 family farms is hugely important to our economy. It is central to the Government's plan for an export-led economic recovery. A major focus of my Department is to progress this objective. It also supports rural society and has a multiplier effect in terms of social, economic and environmental benefits throughout the country. To put this sector into focus, collectively the industry is responsible for some 136,000 jobs and has an annual output of approximately €22 billion with a significant export orientation running into several billion euros. Most telling, this sector represents 60% of manufacturing exports by indigenous firms.

Over the past year, this sector has performed particularly well. The Central Statistics Office figures show that aggregate farm income increased by 28% to €2,010 million in 2010, while the overall value of primary output increased by 12.2% or €22 million to €4,098 million. In 2010, exports of agrifood and drink increased by almost 11% and almost reached €8 billion. This was quite a spectacular performance and one which served to illustrate the undoubted potential of the sector. The good news story of 2010 has continued to date in 2011, with dairy exports increasing by 47% between January and May and exports for the overall sector increasing by 14 % in the first six months of 2011. The net effect is that there is a definite air of optimism and positivism in agriculture and the wider agrifood sector.

We are continuing to work on several fronts to maintain the long-term viability of farmers. At EU level, we are working to ensure a well balanced system of agricultural policy. What is needed is a system which will make agriculture more sustainable, will have a focus on its contribution to supplying the food needs of the world and will also sharpen our farm sector's competitive edge. In a nutshell, our view is that the future CAP must aspire to the twin objectives of competitiveness and sustainability. Now, more than ever, we need to focus on ensuring security of supply of safe, high quality and sustainably produced food at reasonable prices for our consumers and with reasonable returns to our farmers and processors.

Senators will be well aware that the recent Commission MFF proposals were the result of detailed policy debates at EU Agriculture Council at which the Minister, Deputy Coveney, vigorously participated. The negotiations were augmented by a vast amount of informal discussion and analysis, at which there was active Irish participation. These detailed and intensive CAP negotiations are continuing at all levels. The aim is that they will be concluded during the Danish Presidency but there is every possibility that they will not be concluded until the 11th hour and as such will slip into the Irish Presidency in the first half of 2013. The negotiations on the future CAP are therefore of enormous importance for Ireland and the Government is continuing to work to ensure a properly resourced CAP budget which will serve the interests of sustainable and profitable agriculture and the wider agrifood sector.

At national level, Food Harvest 2020 was published last year. This is an ambitious but realistic strategy for growth in the Irish agri-food sector over the next ten years. It was developed in collaboration with the Irish agri-food sector and its delivery will be driven by that sector.

Food Harvest 2020 is playing a huge part in our national economic recovery and has been incorporated into our national recovery plan and in our 2011-2014 programme for Government. Food Harvest 2020 emphasises the need to enhance competitiveness, increase sustainability and improve marketing strategies to deliver on the growth potential in the sector. This message is encapsulated in the caption "Smart Green Growth".

The growth targets for 2020 set by the committee concerned include the following targets for primary agriculture and industry: increasing the value of primary output by €1.5 billion; increasing value added by €3 billion; and achieving an export target of €12 billion for the sector.

Significant work has been done over the past year by the high level implementation committee, which was established to progress these targets and the 215 action points in Food Harvest 2020. This committee, which is chaired by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, encompasses the Department and the State agencies: Teagasc, Enterprise lreland, Bord Bia, BIM and the Environmental Protection Agency.

In July, "Milestones for Success" was published. This is the first progress report on Food Harvest 2020 and indicated that action had commenced on 63% of these 215 actions. In addition, "Milestones for Success" outlines more than 40 actions which the stakeholders will deliver over the coming year. It also sets out interim milestones for 2013 and 2015 to monitor developments. To ensure progress, the Minister has set quarterly targets which he will monitor at each of the high level implementation committee meetings.

Many of these targets are directed at helping farmers to improve their efficiency, competitiveness and financial viability. Among the wide range of actions mentioned in milestones, I want to pick out a few examples which give a flavour of what is being done to assist farmers become competitive and improve on their market returns, that is, Greenfield dairy project, the dairy discussion groups and the Bord Bia beef and lamb quality assurance schemes.

The Greenfield dairy project research involves a collaborative project between Teagasc, the Agricultural Trust, Allied Irish Banks and Glanbia to assist farmers to develop and expand their enterprises as the dairy sector moves towards quota abolition in 2015. Using real-time data from a commercial farm, the project is providing a national blueprint for low-cost milk production. It allows farmers avail of online data on best practice on yields, finance, animal health, farm management and so on. This data is augmented by farm walks and is made available to all farmers through Teagasc's advisory network and the BETTER Farm programme.

Funding has been provided to support the establishment of dairy discussion groups to speed up the transfer of technology, knowledge and best practice. These groups place particular emphasis on the adoption of best practice with regard to grassland management, breeding and financial management. Available data indicates that participation in the groups has resulted in an average economic return of approximately €200 per hectare. The target for 2012 is to increase participation from 6,000 to 8,000 farmers.

The beef and lamb quality assurance schemes, in which more than 30,000 farmers participate, are designed to assist access to market and improve market returns to farmers. A new aspect of these schemes is the development and accreditation by the United Kingdom Carbon Trust of a beef carbon footprint model for Irish beef. This is being incorporated into our national beef and lamb quality assurance scheme and is the first such scheme to include environmental standards. During the next year it will be extended by environmental benchmarks on water and biodiversity as well as into other areas of the food chain.

I emphasise that these are just some of the actions which the Government is progressing to ensure the viability of farmers and all farming activities. Further details are available in the Food Harvest 2020 and Food Harvest 2020Milestones for Success reports which are available on the Department's website. Since taking office, the Government has worked proactively to underpin the future development and prosperity of this vital sector and we remain fully committed to this task.