Taoiseach stresses 'need for dialogue' as agri stakeholder meeting called
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has stressed that there is a "need for dialogue to chart a way forward" for Irish agriculture out of current controversy.
The Taoiseach told the Dáil today (Tuesday, February 10) that he welcomes the "offer of dialogue" from Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon to the farm organisations, "in respect of the Bord Bia issue" among other key matters.
Minister Heydon has called "an important meeting of key agri-food stakeholders".
The minister said the meeting would aim to address "pressing issues facing farmers and the wider sector".
All stakeholders have been contacted with a view to meeting by the end of this week.
The minister said that the meeting follows recent public discussion around Bord Bia, Quality Assurance Schemes and trade-related matters.
Need for dialogue
Responding to questions in the Dáil today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there is a "need to get into a dialogue pathway" with the farm organisations amid the Bord Bia controversy.
He added: "I would encourage the organisations to respond positively to the correspondence that the minister issued today to them in respect of those issues."
Micheál Martin told the Dáil that when the "dust settles on the current row", the CAP is the issue "I'm most concerned about now".
Proposed meeting
The proposed meeting comes as controversy surrounding the Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin has been ongoing for several weeks.
Farm organisations and some politicians, have called on Murrin to resign over the fact that his business, Dawn Farm Foods, sources some beef from Brazil.
The Taoiseach said that Ireland has a "top-class food industry, we have got to protect it".
He added: "The global supply chain is key here. We're not an island on our own - it's complex.
"If we want to supply markets in Europe and people are buying our food from Europe, European companies or Middle Eastern companies, Asian companies, they too will set terms that will govern the basis on which we sell them food and very often, contingency of supply is one of those conditions.
"This isn't simple and we need to be careful of the message we're sending.
"Because so far, we have penetrated markets all over the world because of the quality of our food.
"We want to maintain that level of high-quality exports."
