Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 569: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the implications of the decision announced in Budget 2009 to merge COFORD into his Department; the date by which this is to be achieved; if legislation will be required to give affect to this decision; if so, when the legislation will be published; the savings anticipated from this decision in 2008, 2009 and 2010; the breakdown of those savings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39325/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The implications of the decision to merge COFORD into my Department, and the necessary actions to implement that decision are currently being examined within my Department. Until this process has been completed, I am not in a position to advise of implementation date or potential savings arising from the merger. No legislation is required to give effect to the decision.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 570: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the reasoning behind the decision announced in Budget 2009 to transfer the marketing and promotion functions of Bord Iascaigh Mhara to An Bord Bia; if it is anticipated that this will result in savings to the Exchequer; if so, the breakdown of those savings for 2008, 2009 and 2010; the date by which this transfer is to be achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39326/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The seafood marketing and promotion element of Bord Iascaigh Mhara is to be merged with An Bord Bia. The Government's initiative in transferring the seafood marketing and promotion functions to Bord Bia will ensure the strengthening of seafood marketing as part of a more cohesive overall food marketing effort, while allowing BIM to focus all its energies in developing the seafood industry in line with the Cawley Strategy — Steering A New Course.

The integration of seafood marketing with the State's domestic and international food marketing body will deliver synergies and opportunities for seafood producers where Bord Bia can draw on its expertise in the food sector to identify key future trends and opportunities for growth while pre-empting and reacting to market, competitors and global changes. The amalgamation of the promotion and market development functions of BIM with Bord Bia, will enable one single agency to manage Ireland's food and drink marketing effort on domestic and international markets. This will facilitate a more effective and efficient marketing effort. It will include the merging of the agencies presence internationally, which overlap in the four markets where BIM currently has a presence.

My ambition is that the transfer will be effective from early in 2009 subject to the appropriate legal instruments being in place. In this regard, I am planning that the budget for seafood marketing and promotion currently within BIM's Estimates allocation will be transferred to An Bord Bia in respect of 2009.

As Bord Bia determines funding priorities and allocations within its Estimate it is not possible at this time to estimate possible savings to the Exchequer for the years mentioned. The strategy behind the transfer of this function is to maximise the potential of the sector for 2009 and future years and I am confident that the result will be financial gains both to the sector and the economy.