Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 June 2017
5. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to safeguard the interests of the agrifood and fishing sectors ahead of the UK’s move to leave the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28362/17]
View answerMy question is related to Deputy Penrose's question. What steps is the Minister of State taking to safeguard the interests of the Irish agrifood sector in light of the Brexit challenge? Our overall economy is exposed to the Brexit challenge with 14% of all our exports going to the UK, but with 40% of our agrifood sector exports going to the UK, the challenge facing that sector is particularly acute. The Minister of State might outline the specific steps his Department is taking to safeguard the sector?
I fully recognise the potential difficulties that may arise in the agrifood and fisheries sectors from the Brexit vote. These sectors are of critical importance to our economy given their regional spread and the fact that they underpin the socio-economic development of rural areas in particular. I am determined to safeguard the interests of these vital sectors.
My Department and its agencies have conducted various analyses of the likely impact of Brexit on the agrifood sector. These analyses range from initial and ongoing internal departmental assessments to published work by Teagasc and Bord Bia. This is an ongoing process, and 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-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.
In response to the challenges posed, I have undertaken a number of important steps within my Department, which include the establishment of a dedicated Brexit co-ordination unit and a Brexit response committee to prepare for, monitor and respond to developments as required. As referred to earlier, I have also established a stakeholder consultative committee, which is complemented by frequent contact with representative organisations and companies on an ongoing basis, and operates in parallel to the separate consultation structures under the all-island civic dialogue.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
Last October, as part of budget 2017, I announced a range of measures aimed at alleviating exchange rate volatility pressures. These included the agri cashflow support loan fund of €150 million, enhanced taxation measures, and the allocation of additional funding to Bord Bia in order to ensure that it is in a position to provide Brexit-related supports to affected companies, including its new Brexit barometer. My Department has recently asked Bord Bia to conduct a market profiling exercise to inform commercial and Government market access priorities and it is intensifying its efforts to open third country markets for agrifood products. I also provided for increased funding under the rural development programme and the seafood development programme.
I have also held a series of bilateral meetings with my EU counterparts which are aimed at building alliances to ensure that agrifood and fisheries issues are at the top of the EU negotiation agenda. Building common ground with other member states will be critically important in the context of the negotiations.
In all of these engagements I am making clear our demand for continued unfettered access to the UK market, without tariffs and with minimal additional customs and administrative procedures, as well as keeping the UK market viable for Irish producers by minimising the risk from UK trade agreements with third countries. In relation to fisheries, Ireland wants to maintain current access to fishing grounds in the UK zone in the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and north of Donegal, and to protect our quota share for joint fish stocks.
I wish to assure the House that the Government remains very focused on supporting the agrifood industry through the challenges ahead. I will continue to consult with the industry as the negotiations develop, and press Ireland's case for continued free access to the UK market, without tariffs and with minimal additional customs and administrative procedures.
I will deal with the agrifood sector in my first supplementary and with the fishing sector in my second supplementary. The Department's response in terms of resourcing and having the dedicated staff needed to meet the challenge we face has been inadequate. The Brexit unit in the Department, to which the Minister of State referred, has only four people. I accept that everyone is working on this issue but there are only four people in that Brexit unit. There are only six people in the market access unit in the Department which is responsible for opening up new markets. Having regard to the number of agricultural attachés and embassies across the world, there are only five people dealing with those in the Department.
There are only four additional staff being employed in Bord Bia this year to equip it to meet the challenge and it has a massive role to play in this regard. Therefore, the Department's response has been insufficient to date and it needs to be beefed up.
Food Wise 2025 was developed in a pre-Brexit environment. Why has it not been revised to proof it for Brexit to meet that challenge?
It is easy to say that there are only six additional people in the Department and four additional in Bord Bia. Everybody in the Department is focused on Brexit. It is a standing item on our agenda. I am based on the fifth floor of the Department building along with people from various different sectors. Brexit is on everybody's agenda. There is a dedicated Brexit unit and a co-ordination committee, but it is answerable to way beyond those four people.
The trade division is represented with the Minister in North America this week. Accompanying them are representatives of Bord Bia and of some companies. When a team goes on a trade mission, and I have led one, it can comprise 20 to 25 people. Sustainable Food Systems Ireland may be part of such a mission. It involves selling the whole Irish package and Origin Green is a very important element. We were engaged in such missions prior to the challenge posed by Brexit.
Regarding the Deputy's question on Food Wise 2025, an adjustment in terms of Brexit is being made to it as it evolves. That strategy needs to take cognisance of it because everything is a reaction to what has been happening. The volatility in sterling that we have seen has affected the mushroom and forestry sectors, in particular, and especially wood products. The purpose of the €150 million low-interest loan fund was to help specific sectors, including those sectors, but the wood or timber industry comes under a business sector. A great deal of work is under way and much of it is reactive as the situation requires it. It is very difficult to say we are going to do it a certain way now because we have not really figured it out. We do not know what way this process will be negotiated.
I thank the Minister for his response. I certainly got the impression during the recent leadership contest in the Minister of State's party that the now Taoiseach was acknowledging the fact that there needed to be additional resources in terms of people and expertise allocated to deal with this challenge. I would have hoped that as a result of that there would have been a recognition in the Department that more support was needed specifically to work on this issue. While I understand and accept the point that it is an issue for everyone in the agricultural sector and in the Department, the dedicated unit and particularly the State agencies like Bord Bia need to have the necessary resources to meet this challenge and they have not had them up to now.
I wish to comment on the fishing sector. We have 11,000 people employed directly in the fishing industry across the country, many of them in my county, and the industry accounts for more than €0.5 billion in exports. While there is the challenge of market access and tariffs in regard to agriculture, there is also that challenge in regard to fishing but there is also the massive challenge of access to fishing waters. The UK has made this a big priority in terms of taking back their waters, as it were, and that makes it a very specific challenge for us with respect to how that is negotiated and the approach we take to it.
What approach and efforts has the Department taken towards protecting our position with regard to access to waters in terms of the Minister's engagement with the negotiating team to ensure that a positive outcome achieved?
The Deputy is correct. Of all the sectors that one that is the most vulnerable, given the UK's opening position on Brexit, is the fishing sector. Ireland's position is quite clear; we want to maintain access to fishing grounds in the UK zone, in the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea and north of Donegal and to protect our quota share for joint fishing stocks.
That is our opening position. This crosses through a number of strands. If one looks at the opening statement in Prime Minister Theresa May's Article 50 letter, one sees it recognised the Irish position. Having met recently with the Secretary of State, David Davies, MP, from the UK side, Michel Barnier remarked that the Irish situation came up more than any other issue in that opening salvo. The fishing sector will certainly be part of that. It is the one that is the most vulnerable in the context of Britain establishing a very hard position on protecting its own territory. Maintaining our position is something that will have the support of everyone in this House and beyond.
We will move on. We must have some regard to the clock at this stage. Question No. 6 is in the name of Deputy Moynihan, and Deputy Jackie Cahill has been nominated.
