January 14, 2021 4:03 pm
There are “huge opportunities” for the Irish agri-food industry within the EU, according to Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.
Speaking at the North Tipperary Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) county executive annual general meeting (AGM) earlier this week on Tuesday, January 12, the minister voiced his views that, while the UK will remain a key market for Ireland, we should be looking to improve export opportunities elsewhere also.
The minister attended the virtual IFA AGM after being asked by local senator Garret Ahearn and North Tipperary IFA chairwoman Imelda Walsh.
During the meeting, Minister Coveney said: “There are as many protections as we could have designed into the [Brexit] deal – but that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to be certainly aware of potential risks in terms of future policy decisions made in Westminster and how we may react to it.
January 12, 2021 10:20 pm
Ireland is to get €1.05 billion under the EU’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve – which amounts to 25% of the fund that will be available this year, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has confirmed.
Speaking at the North Tipperary Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) county executive annual general meeting this evening (Tuesday, January 12), the minister revealed that the news had just come through from Europe.
The minister attended the virtual IFA AGM after being asked by local Tipperary Senator Garret Ahearn and North Tipperary IFA chairwoman Imelda Walsh.
Minister Coveney stated that the reserve will have €5.4 billion in funding overall, €4.2 billion of which will be available this year. The funding allocated to Irish agriculture will now be “a matter for government”, he added.
A no-deal Brexit would have "represented the most significant threat to Irish agriculture in a generation", according to Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.