Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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1451. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine given the reported near-finalisation of the UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement and the outstanding concern over checks on goods entering Northern Ireland, if he will outline the current volume and value of agri-food goods exported from Munster/Cork into Northern Ireland or Great Britain that are subject to SPS checks; the number of exporters in the Cork region that have reported increased administrative burden or costs due to SPS/trade-check friction in the past 12 months; and the means by which the Government intends to support exporters in Cork to leverage any reduction in checks once the SPS deal is implemented. [59646/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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As part of the EU-UK Summit in May 2025, the EU and UK have outlined a commitment to working towards the establishment of a common SPS area under a future EU-UK SPS Agreement. At present, negotiations have not commenced and the negotiating mandate authorising the opening of negotiations between the EU and UK is currently being finalised.

There are long established and mutually beneficial trading relationships between food producers in Ireland and food businesses and retailers in the UK. A comprehensive SPS Agreement would greatly reduce the administrative burden on agrifood businesses exporting to the UK, including through reduced certification requirements for exports.

The UK ranked first among destinations for Irish agrifood exports in 2024, with exports amounting to €7.3 billion, equivalent to 30% of all agrifood exports by value, and amounting to 4.6 million tonnes. This represented a 6% increase in both value and volume on 2023. The volume and value of exports are not recorded or reported at a county level, so it is not possible to specifically identify exports from County Cork.