Margaret Conlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food his views on the need for a comprehensive medium term plan for the agri-food and fishing sector here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43445/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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As I have previously indicated on a number of occasions, a new development plan for the period to 2020 is required to maintain the impetus gained from the Agri-Vision 2015 and the Agri-Food 2010 strategies. Work on this plan is already well advanced and I expect the public consultation element to commence in December. At this stage, it is too early to anticipate its contents but I expect that it will have a strong emphasis on the critical issues of competitiveness, environmental sustainability and food security.