Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Question 24: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to progress the recommendations of Food Harvest 2020; the effects he believes the budget 2012 announcements will have on these targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38927/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As I mentioned earlier in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 8, it was my intention that, broadly speaking, the measures announced in Budget 2012 would encourage farming activity, incentivise greater productivity at farm level and so assist the achievement of the growth targets mentioned in Food Harvest 2020.

In relation to Food Harvest 2020, I am personally driving progress on the FH2020 report, and through the efforts of the High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC) , considerable progress has been made in the first year of its implementation. In July, I published 'Milestones for Success' which set out the level of action which had been taken on the 215 recommendations in FH2020. It also itemised 54 actions already taken over the past year by my Department and relevant State Agencies on Acting Smart, Thinking Green and Achieving Growth; the key themes of FH2020.

I am continuing to drive implementation of FH2020 through active engagement with state bodies, industry and farm organisations at HLIC meetings and personal interaction with these key stakeholders. In addition, I have set myself and the agencies working with me on this critically important project, a series of 40 tasks to be completed by end July 2012. To make sure that these plans remain on track, the HLIC and myself have agreed quarterly targets which will help monitor progress and I will assess the progress on the September-December 2011 targets at the next HLIC meeting scheduled for end January 2012. Another monitoring mechanism was the decision to set interim milestones for 2013 and 2105 and all parties are committed to meeting these milestones.

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the role that agriculture and the agri-food sector can play in Ireland's economic recovery with particular regard to the Food Harvest 2020 report produced by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38952/11]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 44: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way the agri-food sector can contribute to the country's economic revival; the effect that changes made in budget 2012 may have on this revival; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38950/11]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the role that the agri-food sector can play in Ireland's economic recovery; the effect he believes the announcements in budget 2012 will have on the agri-food sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38949/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 44 and 59 together.

The agri-food sector is contributing to the country's economic recovery through its significant role in adding value to the economy and its contribution to the export led recovery. CSO data shows that Ireland's agri-food exports increased by 11% in 2010, reaching almost €8 billion. This sector is continuing to improve in 2011 with current figures showing a 12% improvement in the first six months of 2011 vis a vis the same period in 2010 and final year projections are of the order of €8.9 billion.

The agri-food sector plays a particularly strong role in encouraging domestic expenditure. Analysis shows that more than 70% of its expenditure is on Irish goods and services. This, allied to its lower level of profit repatriation, means that its contribution to the Irish economy is significantly greater than that of other manufacturing industries.

The Deputy should also be aware of the embedded nature of this sector which according to the Census of Agricultural Production has

· An annual turnover of €22billion, which is 20% of industries turnover

· Accounts for 18% of Ireland's total industrial output and

· Provides an outlet for produce from Ireland's 128,000 farms and is the main employment for circa 135,000 people

To ensure the continued development of the sector, I am personally leading the implementation of Food Harvest 2020 which sets out the industry's strategic vision for the next decade and which contains over 200 recommendations designed to assist the industry achieve its key growth targets. Fuller details on plans to progress this report are available in my answer to Parliamentary Question 38927/11 of today's date.

It is my view, broadly speaking, that the measures announced in Budget 2012 would encourage farming activity, incentivise greater productivity at farm level and so assist the achievement of the growth targets mentioned in Food Harvest 2020.