Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the marketing initiatives that have been undertaken by Bord Bia in 2010 and at what cost to improve the food industry's competitiveness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40652/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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An Bord Bia is undertaking a series of market research, development and promotion initiatives in 2010 to support the food, beverages, seafood and horticulture sectors including the following. The Marketplace 2010 event in Croke Park in February 2010 brought together 383 buyers with 155 Irish companies for 3,863 pre-arranged meetings to identify business potential. The net budget for the event was under €400,000. Annualised sales arising from the event so far amount to €8.5 million and the target of €10 million in new business after 12 months is accordingly set to be exceeded. In addition, An Bord Bia is participating in 17 key international trade fairs in 2010, providing firms with a cost effective way of engaging with buyers and retailers.

An Bord Bia's Marketing Assistance Programme provides support to food, drink and horticulture companies to assist them in improving marketing techniques and capabilities. It is open to SME's with a minimum annual turnover of €100,000 in the year of application and a maximum turnover of €3.5million. In 2010, 156 companies were awarded grants totalling €882,000. The programme is designed to dovetail with the objectives of the Bord Bia Vantage Small Business Centre of Excellence in helping small businesses to grow.

A second round of the An Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship Programme in association with the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School commenced in 2010 involving the recruitment of 25 graduates with upwards of three years sales and marketing experience and their assignment to 12 international markets for a 12 month period. The programme which commenced in Autumn 2009 has proven highly successful in terms of market research and business development. The cost of the programme and a Fellowship Alumni programme will be €1.375 million.

An Bord Bia is also working on a new sustainability initiative to further consolidate the market position of quality assured Irish beef. From January 2011, the environmental performance of all 32,000 farms participating in the An Bord Bia Beef Quality Assurance Scheme will be tracked on an ongoing basis to objectively demonstrate its green production credentials. Bord Bia is currently completing the process of accreditation to the internationally recognised specification, PAS 2050, in association with The Carbon Trust in the UK. It is understood to be the first scheme of its type in the world to incorporate an objective assessment of the carbon footprint and will enable Irish beef farmers to demonstrate how they are improving their environmental credentials and increasing productivity. The accreditation and audit work is being funded from within the €4.3 million special fund for Quality Assurance in An Bord Bia's budget for 2010.