Ministers continue intensive engagement with key players in Agri-Food area

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Barry Cowen TD, today completed a further phase of intensive engagement with key contacts at EU and domestic levels.

Following a meeting earlier this week with European Commissioner for Trade, Phil Hogan, Minister Cowen spoke this morning via video conference with Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski. The Minister also followed up his earlier meeting with his Northern Ireland counterpart, Edwin Poots MLA, with a discussion yesterday afternoon with UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice, MP. And earlier this afternoon, Minister Cowen discussed the challenges facing the agriculture sector with leaders of the Irish Farmers Association, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association and Meat Industry Ireland. He was again joined for all of these discussions by his colleagues, Ministers of State Senator Pippa Hackett and Martin Heydon TD.

Speaking after the conclusion of today’s engagements, Minister Cowen said:

"This has been a very useful week of discussions with a range of key people from my perspective as we face into a very challenging period for the agri-food sector. A lot of uncertainty still abounds in relation to Brexit, CAP reform, the future EU budget and the wider trading environment. And all of these have to be tackled while the sector also has to meet much higher levels of environment and climate ambition. It was therefore important for me to get the perspectives of key players at EU level, at UK Government level and among domestic stakeholders. Of course, this process will continue as I engage further with all stakeholders over the coming period."

The Minister pointed to a number of issues in particular that were discussed during this week’s series of engagements. He reiterated the need for the CAP budget to match the levels of environment and climate ambition during his talks with Commissioners Hogan and Wojciechowski. He noted the need for further technical engagement on practical Brexit-related matters in due course in his discussions with Secretary of State George Eustice and Minister Poots. And he had a comprehensive exchange of views with farming and industry representatives on the particular challenges facing the sector from their perspectives. Ministers Hackett and Heydon also took the opportunity to exchange views in relation to issues within their areas of responsibility.

Concluding, the Minister said:

"I look forward to pressing ahead and dealing effectively, and in a collaborative way, with the many issues that are facing the agri-food sector. It is clear to me from my discussions this week that, while there are big challenges ahead, there are also significant opportunities that we can seek to benefit from. I am very optimistic about the sector’s prospects, and I firmly believe that we should approach the future with confidence."

ENDS