merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, met European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, this evening for the first time since the Minister’s appointment.

The Minister and Commissioner took the opportunity to informally review current agriculture issues. Among the issues discussed were the ongoing market difficulties being experienced by farmers and the responses required to mitigate their impact, the latest developments in international trade negotiations, including in relation to Mercosur and TTIP, and agriculture-related elements of the recently agreed Programme for Partnership Government.

Commenting after the meeting, the Minister said: “I was determined to have this early engagement with Commissioner Hogan, which served as a very useful opportunity for me to outline the Irish Government priorities for the European agenda over the coming months and for us to establish a solid basis for our future working relationship. I look forward to working closely with the Commissioner over the coming period as we deal with the many challenges currently facing the agriculture sector.”

Commissioner Hogan said: “I was pleased to meet Minister Creed and I wish him every success in his new role. This is a challenging time for the sector and constructive engagement between all policymakers is essential to ensure continuing support for our farmers and agri-business”.