Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. I do not exaggerate when I say that the Irish mushroom industry is in peril. Of the 60 growers in operation at the time of the Brexit referendum in Britain and Northern Ireland, at least six have since ceased production. With 80% of Irish mushrooms destined for the British market, the decline in the value of sterling vis-à-visthe euro of almost 20% since the referendum is having a devastating effect on producers and processors in Ireland, not least in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, where there is a significant concentration of producers and one of the industry's leading players, Monaghan Mushrooms.

With some 3,500 people employed by growers throughout the country - representing a critical mass of employees across rural Ireland - the prospect of the closure of further mushroom producers' businesses because of the impossible situation in which they find themselves, not least as a result of fixed forward contracts set in sterling and the ever-hungry eyes of producers in eastern Europe eager to carve out an even greater share of the British market ,would spell economic calamity for these producers and their employees, families, communities and local economies, and for Ireland's export earnings.

The export value of Ireland's mushroom sector is of the order of €180 million per annum. This is a major issue and we are facing a very serious crisis. In the absence of key measures in the 2017 budget, I ask the Minister of State and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, to spell out what they and the Government are willing to do to help the mushroom industry to survive this crisis. Having no increase in diesel excise duty - welcome though it was - will not cut it. What rescue measures is the Minister proposing? It is now that such measures are needed. Dilly-dallying will lead to further collapses and job loses and an ever greater cost on the Exchequer than any measure or measures might impose.

I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, to outline the consideration that has been given to possible schemes within EU state-aid rules. Some clever footwork is required. What is the potential of reintroducing the previous employment subsidy scheme? What is the position of this country, as an EU member state, sharing a border with a jurisdiction that is exiting the EU? Will our gallant allies in Europe step up to the plate to assist our vulnerable agrifood sector in surviving the turmoil that the British exiteers have inflicted on our economy, employment levels and opportunities? Will the Minister assure the Irish mushroom industry, which is the most vulnerable sector of the Irish food export business, that - in its hour of need - he and this Government will not be found wanting?

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