Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

498. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the criteria used for selection of Fermoy, Cork, as the centre for the new National Food Innovation Hub as opposed to other locations; the strategies subsequently in place to promote the agrifood business nationwide with specific reference to strategies for north County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50434/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The primary objective of the National Food Innovation Hub is to create a business innovation network at Moorepark involving dairy companies, Moorepark Technology Ltd (MTL), incubator companies and public-private partnership based R&D programmes with a research focus on food processing, quality and nutrition. It involves constructing up to 12 customer application suites containing office and laboratory space, so that each company can have an on-campus presence at Moorepark to conduct new-product development etc.

Developing the National Food Innovation Hub at Moorepark will promote greater collaboration between industry and public research, and deliver a step change in innovation activity in the food industry. It responds to increasing demand from dairy and food companies to co-locate their own staff at Moorepark to utilise MTL facilities and collaborate with Teagasc research staff, which requires additional laboratory, office and ancillary space.

The National Food Innovation Hub will be directly linked to both the Teagasc Food Research Centre and MTL to engender close collaboration between the research centres and the companies located on the Moorepark campus. It is envisaged that this unique food cluster will stimulate intensive collaboration between companies and Teagasc researchers to create a platform for innovation, economic growth and job creation.

In addition, a wide range of modern food processing facilities and equipment is available to food businesses at Moorepark including a pilot plant facility operated by MTL, which contains up-to-date and versatile pilot scale processing equipment.  With regard to developing the wider agri-food sector, Food Wise 2025, the ten year strategy published in July 2015, identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the entire sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow it to grow and prosper at local, regional and national level.

It includes more than 350 separate recommendations for actions, spread across cross-cutting themes of sustainability, human capital, market development, innovation and competitiveness. My Department is committed to a robust implementation process which will drive implementation of the Food Wise recommendations. The implementation process is driven by a High Level Implementation Committee, which I chair.