Sheep study lauded
The Minister said: "This is a very positive initiative on the part of the processing industry in partnership with Enterprise Ireland."
A Steering Committee is being established which will monitor progress on the study and will be comprised of representatives of the relevant key players including producers, processors, Teagasc, Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Agriculture and Food.
The group will be chaired by Mr John Malone, former Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture and Food.
The Minister said that it was necessary to analyse and evaluate all aspects of the sheep breeding, production (farming), processing and marketing elements of the industry and the inter-relationship that exists between them. It was important to identify the changes that were needed in the various strategies to make them more effective in the future environment and to draw together a cohesive development plan that will put the industry on a solid footing in the post decoupling era.
The Minister was pleased that the processing sector and producers, the main stakeholders in the industry, were central to this initiative.
