I will raise the issue of Bord Bia without touching on the current controversies in Bord Bia, given that they are well rehearsed and well documented, both in these Houses and the media.

Currently, our Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, is on a trade mission and may be due back today or tomorrow. The Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, is as well. This is important. The Seanad had a very good session yesterday regarding the nitrates directive. We touched on all the positive things going on in agriculture.

Yesterday, the CSO published some figures, and figures do not lie. It is always important we look at the data when we are examining policy. The CSO told us yesterday, in the published report, that there had been an annual decrease of 17.2% in the number of sheep slaughtered in 2025 and a drop of 12% in cattle slaughtering. That is profound. That is an impact that is measured by the CSO and was published yesterday. It clearly sets out an area where we have to have concerns. It is important that we keep as many of our jobs in slaughtering and processing on the island of Ireland as possible, as opposed to the live export of cattle. I have a strong view on that, but the report is an indication of the ongoing challenges in promoting Irish agrifood and the Irish agrifood sector.

I commend Bord Bia on its work. Its remit and responsibility are to promote agriculture, food and the drinks industry. We have a reputation all over the world. It is an amazing organisation. Yes, it is an expensive organisation to run and it may face some setbacks currently, but we have to get beyond that. It is in the interest of Irish farmers, producers and, ultimately, suppliers and the continuous food chain that we have a good, professional and working relationship with Bord Bia. I hope that common sense will prevail in the coming days and we can iron out the difficulties with Bord Bia. I just want to flag here today that we have issues and concerns. The CSO has confirmed the drop in the processing and slaughtering of animals, which has to be of concern. I ask that we continue to monitor the situation.