Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 May 2017
23. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Taoiseach has specifically mentioned the importance of the agrifood industry to the island of Ireland, the impact of any borders being introduced and the impact of even basic inspections on this industry when he was speaking with Prime Minister May with regard to Article 50 being triggered. [16722/17]
View answerAs the House knows, the Taoiseach has initiated, and led, a very effective and efficient 'whole of Government' response to Brexit. Through his chairing of Brexit Cabinet Committee meetings, he is acutely aware of the potentially very negative impact that Brexit would have on the agri-food sector in Ireland and the highly integrated nature of the sector both north and south of the border. He is aware of the fact that a number of analyses were conducted on the potential impact of a UK exit from the EU on Ireland, including by ESRI, IBEC, Teagasc, Alan Matthews and the Department, and that all of these analyses show that the result would be unambiguously bad for the Irish agri-food sector. This comes as no surprise, given that the sector in 2016 exported some 40% of its total exports, valued at €4.8 billion, to the UK, while it imported 46% of total agri-sector imports, valued at €3.7 bn, from the UK.
Within these statistics there are significant levels of trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic. CSO figures for 2016 show that we exported €700 million worth of agri-food products to Northern Ireland, while we imported €500 million worth of products during the same period.
The Taoiseach is also aware of our key ‘asks’ from the EU/UK negotiations, in the agri-food sector, namely:
- Continued free access to the UK market, without tariffs and with minimal additional customs and administrative procedures.
- Minimisation of the risk from UK trade agreements with third countries.
- Maintenance of current access to fishing grounds in the UK zone in the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and north of Donegal and protect Ireland’s quota share for joint fish stocks.
In his address after the meeting with Prime Minister May, the Taoiseach said that although the Irish and UK paths may be diverging within the context of the EU, their common interests remain and he was committed to working together on them.
He also said that they discussed the necessity of ensuring the continued free flow of trade on the island of Ireland and the need to avoid a hard border, and that any manifestation of a hard border would have very negative consequences.
He said that both governments were agreed that a close, and friction-free, economic and trading relationship between the UK and the EU, including Ireland, was in our best interests.
He went on to say that as the UK prepares for its formal notification under Article 50, Ireland wants to see those hard-won, deep trading ties between our two countries recognised and facilitated.
That will continue to be an absolute priority for this Government, not just in our discussions with the British Government but also with our EU partners as we prepare for the negotiation process on the EU side of the table.
It is for that reason that I have met with ten different EU Agriculture Ministers in recent weeks to raise awareness at European level of the particular implications of Brexit for the agri-food and fisheries sectors, and to ensure that they fully understand the impact Brexit is having on the sector and the importance, not just for Ireland but for all Member States, of ensuring that it is treated as a priority in the negotiations.
Personally I am fully committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the sector. I have been heavily involved in consultations through my Department’s Stakeholder Consultative Committee and the All-Island Civic Dialogue process, as well as the extensive series of bilaterals with EU counterparts.
We are still at an early stage in the Brexit process. What is most important is that we are clear in our goals, and that we work coherently and effectively to that end. This has informed our approach to the challenges facing the agri-food sector, and will continue to do so as the negotiation process unfolds.
