David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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451. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the impact of Brexit and currency fluctuations between sterling and the euro is having on the food and agri-business sectors in the southeast; the action he is taking to help the industries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33737/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am fully aware of the impact that Brexit and the sterling exchange rate is having on our agri-food exporters, including those located in the southeast of the country.

A number of actions are being taken to try to mitigate these impacts.

Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland have been providing practical guidance to SMEs. Bord Bia recently announced a number of measures, covering areas such as managing volatility impacts, providing consumer and market insight, deepening customer engagement and extending market reach, all of which are aimed at helping companies maintain their competitiveness. Similar support is being provided by Enterprise Ireland through their 5-point plan for exporters to the UK and through engagement on a one-to-one basis with affected companies.

In addition, I announced a comprehensive set of measures in Budget 2017 which financially underpin my Department's Brexit mitigation efforts through strategic investment in key areas of the Department, its agencies and in the agri-food sector.

The measures include access to an innovative low interest agri-cash flow fund of €150 million. The loan fund will support highly flexible loans for up to six years, for amounts up to €150,000, at an interest rate of 2.95%, and is available to farmers across the livestock, horticultural and tillage sectors. Other measures include agri-taxation initiatives aimed at tackling income volatility, significant additional spending on farm gate schemes through the Rural Development programme, increased funding of Bord Bia and BIM, investment in research & development and innovation, and increased expenditure on the Seafood Development Programme.

The currency volatility issue is of course one that is constantly evolving, and I am continuing to keep the situation under review.