Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the action she will take unilaterally or at EU level with a view to ensuring security of food supplies within the European Union; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30450/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The 2003 Reforms of the CAP with the introduction of the full decoupling of direct payments under the Single Payment Scheme ensures that farmers now have the 'freedom to farm' and that the CAP is geared towards the demands of the market and consumers. The Single Payment Scheme is linked to food safety, animal welfare and environmental standards, and consumers are guaranteed a supply of safe food, produced to high animal welfare and environmental standards, at reasonable cost.

Irish exports of agri-food products have grown steadily in recent years to reach record levels of over €8bn in 2006. These exports are now increasingly concentrated in the high-value EU market. For the future, the question of food security may indeed be an issue. However, it is worth noting that the EU is by far the largest player on the world market and while imports of certain commodities into the Community may have increased, Ireland will remain a significant net exporter.