Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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465. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to introduce new measures to assist the mushroom sector due to the particular difficulties that have arisen for that sector since June 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40938/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am keenly aware of the challenges that the mushroom sector is experiencing in the aftermath of the UK Referendum decision to exit the EU, particularly in light of recent fluctuations in currency. I am focused on working with the industry to meet these difficulties in the months and years ahead.  I have also established in my own Department a dedicated unit to consider the direct impact of Brexit on our industry. Although it is still a serious situation, there has been a modest reversal in the decreasing Sterling exchange rate in the last two weeks, with Sterling now holding at around 84p to the Euro.  

Budget 2017 underpins my Department’s efforts through strategic investment in key areas, such as in its agencies and in the agrifood sector. As part of Budget 2017 I have secured an additional €700,000 in funding for capital investments in the Commercial Horticulture sector.  This will increase the budget for this scheme to €5 million in 2017. In addition, the Horticulture sector will have access to the €150 million low interest cash flow support loan fund announced in Budget 2017, providing access to highly flexible loans for up to six years, for amounts up to €150,000, at an interest rate of 2.95%.

My Department, along with the various State agencies, in particular Bord Bia, Teagasc and Enterprise Ireland, is working closely with the industry to provide the necessary support and assistance.  Bord Bia is actively supporting the sector in the areas of Market Intelligence, UK consumer research and Quality Assurance. They recently held a currency and negotiation workshop specifically targeted at the sector which I understand was very well received by the mushroom industry.  In recent weeks, the CEO of Bord Bia and I have held a series of meetings with senior executives from the UK retailers, to highlight the obstacles that our producers are facing. I understand that in recent weeks, representatives of mushroom growers have met with a more positive reaction from their UK Multiple customers, to their need for fair and reasonable returns for their produce from the marketplace. 

Funding for a pilot programme on LEAN processes has been provided through Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland. The programme is commencing with 6 mushroom growers, to assess efficiency across all aspects of the business, including supply chain, innovation, marketing and logistics. It is hoped that a template could be developed through this programme that will enable growers to optimise their production costs further.

I would also draw attention to support being provided to the industry through National and EU Schemes.

Under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2007 – 2013 my Department implemented the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector.  During this period my Department paid out over €4 million in grant payments to mushroom growers which supported €10.1 million in investment.  

To ensure ongoing support for the sector, my Department extended, under EU sanction, the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector to run until 31 December 2019. In 2014 and 2015 a total of €1.64 million in grant aid was paid to mushroom growers.  The grant aid paid supported some €4.1 million in investment by these growers.

Under the 2016 Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector, my Department issued approvals in the amount of €1.33 million in aid to growers in the mushroom sector, supporting €3.3 million in proposed investment. I have also  provided a commitment to ensure that payments under this scheme are made as early as possible, so as to try to alleviate any financial pressure that growers are currently facing.

In October, I arranged the payment of just under €1.57 million to one of our mushroom producer organisations.