Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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180. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 216 of 8 November 2018, the full year cost of the number of public servants deployed to work exclusively on market access and other associated costs. [49992/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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One of my key priorities is to further increase the market opportunity for Irish food and drinks internationally. Market development is a key component of Food Wise 2025, and is particularly important in the context of Brexit.

My Department’s market access effort includes work at political, diplomatic, and technical levels. The work of staff right across the Department is central to this effort. Veterinary, inspection and administrative staff involved in the protection of public and animal health, the provision of laboratory services and the certification of exports, are directly involved in supporting my Department’s efforts to access new markets, for example through the provision of critical information to competent authorities in third countries, the facilitation of inspection visits by third country officials, or the agreement of export health certificates.

This wider effort work is co-ordinated by a team of 14 people working specifically on market access and the identification of technical barriers to trade across a range of commodities and livestock.

The salary scales for the grades included in the key cohort of staff working exclusively on market access issues are as illustrated in the table.

However, as previously stated, it should be noted that there is a wider effort by staff in all grades right across my Department which together contribute to this important market access work.

Also, my Department has appointed agricultural attachés to embassies in Beijing, Washington, and Abu Dhabi to provide support to our trade development efforts in these critical third country markets. It keeps the locations of such appointments under review in line with the market opportunities in these regions.

My Department also funds the operations of Bord Bia and works closely with other Government Departments and agencies to increase the global footprint of Irish food, including by leading multi-agency trade missions.

I will continue to keep these arrangements under review to ensure that resources are optimally deployed and that our efforts to develop the global footprint of the Irish food sector are effective.