Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 June 2017
10. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to respond to the threats facing County Wexford agriculture regarding Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28165/17]
View answerI want to ask about the Minister's plans to respond to the threats to agriculture from Brexit, with a particular focus on County Wexford.
There is no doubt that Brexit will have an impact on the outlook for Irish agriculture in all counties, including Wexford. Farming is an essential part of the social, cultural and economic fabric of Ireland. It is also part of a wider EU dispensation that values a Common Agriculture Policy built on family farming, food security, high standards of food safety and environmental sustainability. These are values that we hold dear so it is critically important, when we consider the impact of Brexit, that the positive contribution of agriculture to the rural and national economy, and to society in Ireland and elsewhere in the European Union, is to the forefront in our deliberations.
Over the past few months the Minister and I have engaged with counterparts in other member states in an effort to sensitise them to the potential impact of an unfavourable Brexit agreement, or no agreement, not only on Ireland but on the EU agrifood sector generally. In this regard, there is regular engagement with the Commission, the UK, including Northern Ireland, and other member states, both at political and official level. The Minister, Deputy Creed, and I have had specific bilateral meetings with counterparts in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Luxembourg, Austria and Spain to seek to establish common ground on the Brexit issue.
My Department and its agencies have conducted various analyses of the likely impact of Brexit on the agrifood sector. These analyses range from internal departmental assessments to published work by Teagasc and Bord Bia. This is an ongoing process and it will continue through extensive consultation with stakeholders via the Department's stakeholder consultative committee and through the all-island civic dialogue process, in respect of which I have already hosted five agrifood and fisheries sectoral dialogues.
While the main impact to date of the Brexit vote has been the effect of sterling volatility on those businesses that have a significant trading relationship with the UK, the medium-term to long-term threats include the possible introduction of tariffs on trade between the EU and UK, potential divergences in regulations and standards between the EU and UK post-Brexit, and the implications of border controls and certification requirements. Difficult challenges also arise in regard to potentially restricted access to fishing grounds and resources.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
The Minister is very aware of these potential threats but he remains very focused on supporting the agrifood industry through the challenges ahead. He has already provided additional resources to Bord Bia and this has, inter alia, funded its Brexit barometer, which is a valuable tool to allow participating companies to assess their own preparedness for Brexit. The learning from this very useful exercise will also help to inform policymakers. He has asked them to conduct a market profiling exercise to help to prioritise market access efforts and he recently announced a seven-point plan to intensify the Department's efforts on this front. As part of the wider Government response, the Minister will continue to assess the risk to the Irish agrifood sector in order to provide appropriate supports to mitigate any risk.
The Minister has also provided a number of other supports for the sector, including a €150 million low-cost loan scheme, agri-taxation measures and increased funding under the rural and seafood development programmes. The Minister will also continue to consult with the industry as the negotiations develop and press Ireland's case at European level for continued free access to the UK market, without tariffs and with minimal additional customs and administrative procedures, together with the minimisation of the risk from UK trade agreements with third countries.
This question arises out of the current fears of farmers in my constituency. The Wexford agricultural sector is facing many threats with the imminent departure of the UK from the European Union. Wexford has a strong agrifood sector and the county provides 10% of the country's total agrifood output. Brexit presents a serious economic threat to the agrifood sector as a whole. As the Minister of State is aware, 270,000 jobs rely on the agrifood sector in this country. The value of agrifood exports arising out of agricultural output in County Wexford is €500 million. Several agrifood businesses have already been hit hard due to currency fluctuations and a reluctance to invest as a result of the uncertainty around Brexit. I am somewhat alarmed by the apparent lack of concern that seems to be emanating from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine concerning the existential threats to some sectors within the agrifood sector.
I do not accept there is a lack of concern. The Department had prepared for the eventuality of a decision by the UK to leave the EU and had scoped out the potential damage that could do to the sector. As I outlined in my opening response, I visited the Netherlands and Belgium in March and the Minister, Deputy Creed, has visited a large number of member states in trying to reaffirm Ireland's particular set of circumstances and exposure to a very unfavourable Brexit deal, or no deal, which would be worse. We are working on this and it is an ongoing effort.
The Minister is this week in the United States and Mexico on a trade mission, which has been successful. That will achieve a certain mitigation but, nonetheless, we still export 40% of all our agricultural products to the UK. The mushroom sector exports 80% of its product to the UK and the forestry sector 70%, so there is particular exposure in some sectors.
I will give an example to show where my concern is coming from. In the event of a hard Brexit whereby the UK leaves the customs union, any goods getting to and from the Continent through the UK will face four customs checks out and in, including checks in Britain and France. Some 80% of the goods going to the Continent use the UK land bridge. If that land bridge is lost, how do we get our goods to the Continent, for example, roll-on, roll-off and livestock goods? The only option is through Rosslare Europort. The last time I raised this in the House, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade accused me of parish pump politics. To the best of my knowledge, until very recently the Minister, Deputy Ross, had not even bothered to contact anybody in Rosslare Europort and certainly had not met anyone there. He still refuses to publish in the Indecon report around it. That is the concern. If the hammer falls down and we cannot get our goods across the UK land bridge, come a hard Brexit, and we do not have the facilities in Rosslare Europort, how are we going to get our goods to the Continent? Nobody seems to be taking that issue seriously because nobody seems to be addressing it.
It is important to point out in regard to the agrifood trade between Ireland and the UK that we export approximately €4.8 billion worth of product to the UK and, in return, we purchase €3.7 billion worth of product, which is 46% of our total food imports from the UK. Therefore, there is a mutual trading arrangement of almost €9 billion.
With regard to the specific query, I have been speaking to members of staff at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, who have been to countries such as Lithuania, which has an arrangement with Belarus whereby product goes to Lithuania and back to Belarus and is treated as if it never left the country. If we take the import of flowers to this country from the Netherlands on a daily basis over a land bridge, it is very exposed to the same scenario outlined by the Deputy. This is why we are engaging with countries which are likely to be the most impacted by Brexit, to build up strategic alliances with those nations.
