Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 478: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of jobs provided in each of the counties Cavan and Monaghan through the food industry; if he is satisfied that this sector is getting sufficient support at the present time, taking account the recent fall in the value of sterling and the collapse in dairy prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10080/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The food and drinks sector exhibits a wide regional spread. This is seen prominently in data for the Border region (Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal) where 111 food and beverages manufacturing units are situated (10 more than the Dublin region). As such, approximately 17% of food and drink units are located in the Border region. The most recent county breakdowns available from the CSO Census of Industrial Production (2005) show that there were 14 food and drink units in Cavan employing 1,460 people and 17 units in Monaghan employing 1,963 people.

My Department has supported farm and food enterprises along the food supply chain in accordance with the Agri-Vision 2015 strategy and Action Plan. This includes grant aid to support capital investment to improve competitiveness. Over €11 million in grant aid has been awarded under the Dairy Investment Fund to support capital investment in Cavan. In the period 2004 to 2006 almost €2.4 million in grant aid was awarded to egg packing and horticulture companies in Monaghan under my Department's Marketing and Processing Scheme. In December last a further €0.4 million was awarded to two small meat enterprises and a horticulture enterprise in Monaghan.

The rapid depreciation of sterling has presented a huge challenge for the food sector and highlights the importance of diversifying more of our exports. Bord Bia has accordingly developed promotional programmes and services to assist Irish food and drink companies to build business in Euro zone markets and Bord Bia research has prioritised target markets for prepared foods and identified opportunities for cheese and dairy ingredients. During 2009 Bord Bia will implement a comprehensive set of promotional programmes and services, which have been developed in consultation with industry bearing in mind the impact of the sterling differential on competitiveness. They include: Food Ingredients/Nutraceuticals (Europe), which will provide industry with detailed market requirements particularly for dairy ingredients. Participation in Trade Fairs in Paris, Madrid, Portugal and Amsterdam, mentoring on supplying Continental supermarket groups and provision of market insights. Private Label seminar (Scandinavia, Germany & Holland) with company specific mentoring and Private Label Manufacturers Association trade fair in Amsterdam. The establishment of a full-time Bord Bia presence in Shanghai is also significant.

As regards the dairy price situation, I have made clear to EU Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel my continued concern on the current state of the market and pressed for the immediate activation of market support measures to get the sector through this very difficult period. While the early introduction of Private Storage Aid for butter, the commitments regarding intervention for butter and skimmed milk powder and the reinstatement of export refunds in recent weeks have been helpful, I have emphasised that we need measures such as competitive refunds that lead to the permanent disposal of product and attractive intervention tendering arrangements as well as consideration of supports for the use of dairy products to help restore order to the sector. I will be discussing this matter further with the Commissioner later this week.