Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent)

I second the motion which includes a suggestion that the label "Irish food" be permitted only where specific criteria are satisfied. We are all aware that buying Irish benefits the economy and safeguards Irish jobs. If Irish consumers choose Irish-made products over foreign imports, it gives indigenous companies a significant and welcome boost. Our superb and ongoing record in export growth has proved that we are extremely competitive in the agrifood sector. If we can find a way to label our food products as made and packed in this country in order that consumers can identify them as such in a split second, we will be taking a huge step in assisting the local economy towards recovery.

Among the 1.5 million Irish households, the average spend on Guaranteed Irish products is €16 a week. Increasing this to €20 a week would create 6,000 new jobs based on the turnover per employee of existing Guaranteed Irish members. In this respect, current practices by certain producers and retailers are harming local produce, in particular, the mislabelling of products as Irish. According to Amárach Research, 83% of consumers believe it is more important to buy locally produced goods and services now than it was five years ago, while almost two thirds say buying Guaranteed Irish products helps them to feel they are supporting Ireland. However, the problem for consumers is that we have only one second to make up our mind in the supermarket. We are all busy these days and it is difficult enough to navigate the aisles of large supermarkets without having to work out whether the products one is purchasing are Irish. A good example is the difference between smoked Irish salmon and Irish smoked salmon. It is difficult to tell which is Irish salmon and which was farmed in Norway and merely smoked in Ireland. It comes down to a problem with food labelling. Another example is chicken produced in Thailand but coated in Ireland. In some cases, the smoked salmon has only been processed here. For years I believed fish sold under the Donegal Catch label was produced in and around County Donegal, but that is not the case. It is possible it is farmed in Norway or Greece and sold under the Donegal Catch label.

At the Irish Ploughing Championships last year I came across a superb new company, Truly Irish, which produces pork and bacon from the farm to the table. It is receiving huge support from Irish consumers. I wish I had thought of calling Lily O'Brien's Truly Irish Lily O'Brien's in order that everyone would know it was made in Newbridge.

On a related note, it was stated in The Irish Times last September that people associated Jacob's Fig Rollswith Ireland. It has been said they have been Ireland's favourite for over 100 years. Sadly, they are now made in Malta. Siúcra which many regard as a purely Irish product imports sugar from elsewhere in Europe, frequently Germany, to be repacked here.

The economist I listen to most is Mr. Jim Power who fronts the Love Irish Food campaign. We need to sort out the labelling issue. As I stated, I do not want people to stop buying Jacob's Fig Rolls or Mikado, but I do want consumers to know for certain that what they are buying in supermarkets are Irish products, allowing them to truly support Irish food products. My business recently lost two fairly large contracts, one in the USA and the other in England. The American company, a rather large blue chip company, stated that while it loved the company and that we had done a great job for six years, President Obama wanted it to support the domestic economy and American companies. It was for that reason that it had decided to switch from an Irish supplier, with which it was delighted, to an American one. I know there is EU legislation in this regard. However, we need to move towards what is being done by the Americans and the English.

The final part of the motion states the European Union believes that by 2020 there will be a 40% increase in the food waste generated. We must address this issue through involving producers, retailers and consumers. Proper labelling and education will also help us to address it. Young people have helped to educate us on issues such as recycling and waste, so much so that we are all recycling properly. Imagine what could be achieved if they were to explain to us what "best before" or "sell by" meant. Last week Sainsbury's informed its consumers by way of an article in The Daily Telegraph that it was to change its label "freeze on day of purchase" to "freeze up to two days after sell-by date".

This is a wide-ranging and interesting debate. If the Minister is serious about dealing with the issues of Irish agricultural food waste, obesity and Irish jobs, he should move to make real changes as regards how we look at Irish food and food labelling.