Irish farming has faced big crises in the past and certainly Brexit is another, but the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed has said that we will overcome it.

Speaking on Newstalk last week, Minister Creed said that an “awful lot” is currently going on in his Department at the moment to cope with Brexit.

“It is our most valuable market and we are their most significant market, there’s mutual interest in delivering an outcome that benefits the both of us.

“We’re not surrendering the hard yards won by the industry, the UK is our most important market.”

On Irish food products, the Minister said that it’s Ireland’s commitment to the highest standard of food production, that gives us a cutting edge in the market.

Meanwhile, Ireland will face issues of another dimension when it comes to Northern Ireland, with the Minister saying that sheep come south for slaughter, pigs go North and dairy co-ops straddle the border. Tariffs will be likely on this cross-border movement post-Brexit, he said.

The Minister for Agriculture also announced that he will be meeting his UK counterpart, Andrea Leadsom on December 1, to discuss Brexit.

‘Brexit is too important of an issue to have just one Minister’

Meanwhile, speaking at the 40th annual Irish Co-operative Society Conference (ICOS) conference last week, the Minister said that Brexit is too important of a issue to have just one Minister covering it.

The UK’s decision to leave the European Union presents enormous challenges for Irish agriculture and the agri-food sector, he said.

“It is essential that we retain our national competitiveness as much as we possibly can, while mitigating the possible effects of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

“The issue is entirely more important than a single Department or Ministry, that’s why what is happening is being lead out of the Taoiseach’s Department.

“It is a whole of government issue. It is huge in the area of agriculture and the impacts on everything we do,” he said.