Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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71. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of negotiations by his Department on accessing the South Korean market for Irish grass-fed beef produce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27027/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The process towards gaining access for Irish beef to the Republic of Korea has been ongoing for a number of years. The Republic of Korea is a top priority market for the market access team in the Department. However several important steps remain to be completed before access can be gained and Irish beef exported.

Ireland's application for beef is currently on the fifth of an eight-step process. My Department has to date submitted detailed questionnaires and other technical documentation in response to requests from the Korean competent authorities. Additionally, it has hosted two Korean inspection visits in 2016 and 2017. Furthermore, the Department has supported three Ministerial trade missions to the Republic of Korea in 2016, 2017 and 2019 during which meetings were held at Ministerial and official level to develop relationships with Korean counterparts and advance the beef access application.

Late last year, the Korean Ministry of Agriculture (MAFRA) concluded its examination of the Irish application, allowing the file to be transferred to parliament for consideration. Before that, however, the Korean Authorities in line with their requirements held a 20-day public consultation on the proposed Import Health Requirements that will apply to Irish beef once the market is opened. The consultation period closed on 29th April and it is understood that MAFRA is currently making final preparations to formally transfer the Irish application to the Korean National Assembly for review.

Assuming that the National Assembly votes to approve the application, which may take some time, Ireland will still have to complete several further steps to secure full access. These include approval of individual beef plants wishing to export to Korea, which will require an inspection visit by the relevant Korean authorities.

It is not possible at this stage to say when the parliamentary and other remaining steps in the access process will be completed. As with pending applications in other markets, the time-frame for securing access to the Korean beef market is ultimately a matter for decision by the authorities in the importing country. The Department continues to actively engage with the Korean competent authorities in close collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland in Seoul.