Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 37: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she is satisfied that sufficient support is being made available to the organic sector; her views on the fact that Ireland is still importing up to 70% of its organic food; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40520/06]

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps she is taking to develop the organic sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40485/06]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 105: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the new measures that she has taken in the past 12 months to improve organic acreage here; the results of these measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40587/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 92 and 105 together.

I am strongly committed to the development of the organic sector in Ireland. While the sector in Ireland is still small by European standards, it is growing. The total area in conversion or with full organic status rose by nearly 5,000 hectares to over 35,000 hectares in 2005, an increase of some 15% on 2004. That figure has increased by a further 1,500 hectares so far this year.

My Department already provides substantial financial supports for organic producers, through the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) and the Scheme of Grant Aid for the development of the organic sector. Since REPS began in 1994, it has delivered some €37 million to the sector. The draft Rural Development Programme for the period 2007–2013 includes measures designed particularly to encourage development in the organic tillage and horticulture areas. It is proposed, for example, to allow organic farmers to obtain organic support payments without having to be in REPS . The draft Programme is currently the subject of a consultation process.

Special investment aid is also available for organic farmers and processors under the Scheme of Grant Aid for the Development of the Organic Sector, which supports investment both on-farm and off-farm. For on-farm investments, grant aid can be given for 40% of the cost up to a maximum grant of over €50,000. For off-farm investments, the maximum grant is over €500,000.

Lack of technical expertise has been recognised as a barrier to progress in both the organic tillage and horticultural areas. To address this information deficit, my Department, in conjunction with Teagasc, arranged this year to bring in two specialist agronomists from the UK on a pilot basis. Through farm visits and workshops, they shared their experiences with producers and this has been of immense value.

Another successful initiative has been the demonstration farm programme. It continued during 2006 and a total of 14 farms were used throughout the country to promote organic farming systems. My Department will continue to expand and improve this programme, which is a major instrument in encouraging conventional growers to switch to organic.

Substantial progress has also been made on the implementation of the recommendations in the Organic Development Committee report, published in 2002. The three additional structures recommended are now into their second three-year terms. The National Steering Group advises me on all policy issues relating to the sector. The Steering Group is supported by two sub-Groups, the Partnership Expert Working Group and the Organic Market Development Group. The Partnership Expert Working Group is responsible for training, education, advice and research. The Organic Market Development Group has overall responsibility for developing a national marketing strategy for organic food. In this regard Bord Bia, in consultation with the Market Development Group, has recently produced a three-year Organic Marketing Plan. The objective of the plan is to develop the organic sector in Ireland for existing suppliers and new entrants. My Department has now approved funding for the Plan, amounting to a substantial sum of €1.5m over the 3-year period. Included in the plan was National Organic Week which this year ran from November 6th to 12th. This is the second year of National Organic Week, the objective of which is to raise consumer awareness about organic food and farming. One of the flagship events during that week, supported by my Department, was the very successful All Ireland Organic Food Conference held in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.

The decoupling of farm payments has established a policy framework in which farmers have the freedom to farm in response to market demands. In this more market-oriented scenario, there is real scope for organic production to expand with the help of the incentives that I have outlined already.

My Department is also fully committed to ensuring that consumers can have full confidence in the organic food they buy. For that reason my Department assigned extra resources to the Organic Unit earlier this year and we are now systematically inspecting retail outlets, including supermarkets, shops and farmers markets, checking to ensure that all product identified as organic has been produced fully in accordance with the organic regulations. The introduction of the European Communities (Organic Farming) Regulation 2004 (S.I. No 112 of 2004 gave my Department powers to prosecute contraventions of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 on organic production and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs. To date one operator has been convicted of an offence for labelling product in contravention of these Regulations.