Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleague, Senator Paul Coghlan, in welcoming the significant food conference that is taking place over these couple of days in the convention centre. I congratulate Bord Bia, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney and the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, on this initiative. This means we will have 100 food companies from Ireland displaying their goods and 150 buyers from all over the world. Over the past number of months, we have seen food exports to the United States, China, right across Asia and all over the world increase year on year. Over the number of difficult years that we have had, farming has brought us through the recession. This is positive news. It indicates further that any investment we make in farming and in the farming community is well worthwhile. I look forward to an exciting year, in 2015 and in the years to come, for the agrifood sector.