Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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368. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the increase in milk production levels, if he will review the resources available for marketing agencies to ensure they will be in a position to pursue developing markets in this sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18591/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Planning in overall terms, and specifically in terms of marketing activities for the post quota period in relation to efforts to increase exports has been ongoing for a number of years. Developing a unique selling point for Irish dairy produce is a critically important element of the national strategy for the development of the sector, particularly in the context of the need to maximise market returns for significantly increased production in competitive markets world-wide. It remains clearly evident, from engagement with potential customers for Irish dairy products that the sustainability message inherent to the sector in Ireland has a strong resonance. Irish dairy co-operatives and PLCs export their produce to some 130 countries and of course, some 60% of Irish dairy output is marketed through a joint co-operative venture “The Irish Dairy Board” which has recently rebranded itself as “Ornua”. These companies have already proven their capability on international markets and I am confident they will continue to do so in the quota free environment.

As a support to this effort, in 2012 I announced a proposal for a new national sustainability programme for the dairy sector. This programme, the Bord Bia Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) was launched in December 2013 and is a key element in Ireland’s strategy for marketing and promotion of dairy products on international markets, particularly in the context of expanded milk output following the abolition of milk quotas in April of this year.

The Bord Bia Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme was developed in cooperation with milk producers, processors and regulatory authorities. It has been designed to assist in securing new and existing markets for Irish dairy produce as farmers look to increase milk production in a post quota era.

This SDAS programme is independently verified and establishes a point of differentiation that sets our dairy products apart in world markets. The carbon footprint element is pivotal in demonstrating the strong climate change credentials of Ireland’s dairy sector, and indeed it has already been established that Ireland’s GHG emissions from the dairy sector are the joint lowest in the EU. To date there have been 6,405 audits completed with 5,667 farms certified. Another 684 farms are currently pending audit.

The scheme facilitates Bord Bia in conjunction with the dairy industry in positioning the Irish dairy sector globally as a source of verifiably sustainable dairy production. The SDAS programme, including audits, are funded directly by industry and managed by Bord Bia. To promote the SDAS to customers of Irish dairy, the industry provides a promotional fund to Bord Bia and this will be focussed across 3 primary target regions, namely Europe, China and the Middle East at a business to business level.

Bord Bia also has a central budget from Government which is used, inter alia, for the promotional activities in relation to dairy through attendance at trade fairs, market research in developing markets and consumer research. This funding is set to increase by 14% in 2015, which includes funding for Bord Bia to assist in the marketing of Irish food and drink including dairy at this year’s Expo in Milan. Taken together, I am satisfied that the foregoing measures as outlined reflect the strong ongoing commitment to making resources available to ensure developing and exciting markets in the dairy sector can be appropriately pursued.