Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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189. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if An Bord Bia have the necessary resources to support market development, in-market intelligence, in-market promotion and in-market trade support in its 2017 budget to seek out new markets following the Brexit vote; the total number of additional staff that will be hired in 2017 to help in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3639/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Additional resources have been provided to Bord Bia in 2016 and 2017. During 2016 Bord Bia received sanction for 20 additional staff. Recruitment is well advanced with just four of the positions remaining to be filled in 2017. The recruitment programme has supported a number of initiatives including the opening of offices in Warsaw and Singapore, the establishment of The Thinking House, a consumer insight and innovation centre which provided services to over 100 client companies in 2016, the addition of a trade marketing specialist in Shanghai and an additional trade marketing specialist in the UK and participation in an increased number of international trade fairs during 2017. These initiatives will complement an ambitious programme of trade missions in 2017 which will be  undertaken by the Department, Bord Bia and other development agencies, and companies. As part of the overall workforce planning by my Department and its agencies, Bord Bia is also preparing a workforce plan for 2017 and beyond to identify further measures to support market diversification for food and drink producers and companies.

Additional funding of €2 million for market development, intelligence, promotion and assistance to companies has been provided in the 2017 Budget and builds on the increases in funding in recent years. The €2 million will enable Bord Bia to undertake activities including an export marketing strategy  programme to help individual companies to maintain and grow their position in the UK and/or diversify their market reach , research to identify priority market opportunities, participation in three new trade fairs in Asia and increasing presence at key shows such as Gull Food, where space will be doubled, and Anuga in Germany. The overall programme for 2017 is ambitious and focused on the industry and the particular challenges facing the sector in 2017.