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Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney today welcomed the launch of the Government's Action Plan for Jobs:

The 17 agri-food measures in the Strategy set out clear actions, steps to be taken and time-lines in each case. They will support food and drink companies in sustaining jobs and expanding business in particular on the export front, in line with the Food Harvest 2020 vision of ‘Smart, Green Growth’. I am committed to the implementation of these measures and have already brought an Action Plan to the Food Harvest 2020 Committee. It is now an integral part of their planning. The general measures in the Jobs Strategy also include actions to improve access to credit across the micro sector, which had been a constraint on growth for small and micro companies.

said the Minister.

The Minister added

These ambitious measures will facilitate delivery of our Food Harvest 2020 expansion targets. Food Harvest provided an indication that it was possible to achieve a net 7,000 additional jobs, half of them in aquaculture and seafood, as exporting food companies were resilient and there were particular opportunities to expand aquaculture.