The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine is seeking submissions on the future of the beef sector “in the context of Food Wise 2025”.

The closing date for interested groups or individuals to make their views known is next Thursday (March 21) at 5:00pm.

After the closing date, public hearings will be held towards the end of this month and in April.

The committee will consider any suitable written submissions received and may decide to invite a number of contributors to the public hearings.

More information on how to make a submission can be found here.

This follows on from a similar programme of submissions that the committee announced at the end of February.

At the time, the committee announced that it was aiming to identify what policy adjustments were needed to ensure the beef sector continued to play a “key role” in the growth of the agri-food industry.

The agriculture committee has spent a significant amount of time examining the beef sector and its vulnerability in the light of Brexit, as well as the possible opportunities that a more diverse global market could offer Irish beef farmers.

Speaking last month, the committee’s chairperson, Pat Deering, said: “This call for submissions is part of the process of engagement that we hope will contribute towards supporting a strong beef industry.

“I would encourage stakeholders and interested parties to make their submissions in order to ensure that their voices are heard at this crucial time for the industry,” he added.