The government has today (Wednesday, February 18) announced a scheme to support the establishment of new flour mills in the country.

Ireland currently has only one industrial scale flour mill, and this initiative aims to strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of the bakery value chain.

Enterprise Ireland will oversee and administer the scheme and will engage directly with firms considering new or expanded milling operations of scale.

Flour mills

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon welcomed the new scheme.

He said the initiative was among the recommendation in the Food Vision Tillage Report to explore opportunities for milling wheat in Ireland.

"It is government policy to grow and develop the tillage sector, and I believe in the importance of developing new added value opportunities to enhance its long-term sustainability and competitiveness.

"With collaboration from industry and support from the marketplace, domestic production of milling wheat can play an important role in providing a new value-added opportunity in the supply chain for Irish tillage farmers," he said.

Competitiveness

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke said the scheme will improve the competitiveness within Ireland’s food and drink sector.

"The Irish bakery market is worth an estimated €995 million annually with exports of more than €200 million.

"With over 7,000 people employed across 600 businesses, this scheme will reduce costs for these SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises)," he said.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance Robert Troy added:

"Ireland’s ability to secure the future supply of flour supports the resilience of what is a key national supply chain.

"This initiative will support investment in modern and efficient processing facilities, and aligns with the government’s objective to enhance competitiveness across multiple sectors."

Tom Cusack, head of food at Enterprise Ireland explained that the initiative will "support projects of scale that deliver improvements in efficiency, sustainability, and supply chain resilience, contributing to long-term competitiveness in the bakery sector".

He said the support will be implemented in line with European regulations to ensure full compliance with EU State aid rules.

Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne said the scheme is "an investment in Irish food security".

The Wicklow Wexford TD has previously stated that Ireland is over dependent on international flour imports.

"That level of reliance represents a dangerous over exposure at a time when global supply chains are becoming increasingly strained," he said.