Agri-Food Funding

Correspondence with Right Hon Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP

To: Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Subject: Re: Support for the Agri-Food Industry

Dear Committee,

Thank you for your recent correspondence with which you have included a letter from the Chairperson of the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Mr Declan McAleer MLA. 

The DUP Parliamentary Party is fully supportive of the initiative taken by Minister Edwin Poots MLA in writing to the Secretary of State for Food and Rural Affairs the Rt Hon George Eustice MP seeking an assurance that the needs of our Agri-Food Industry would be taken into account within any support package offered by the UK Government and the EU during the Covid-19 crisis.

My Parliamentary colleague Carla Lockhart MP is our spokesperson on these matters and has been in regular contact with the Secretary of State George Eustice on behalf of the Agri-Food Industry in Northern Ireland.  Carla will be responding to your correspondence more fully on behalf of our Parliamentary Team.

Please be assured that the interests of the Agri-Food Industry in Northern Ireland will continue to be a priority for the DUP Parliamentary Party in our representations to the Government at Westminster.  We will continue to work closely with and be supportive of the efforts by Minister Edwin Poots to highlight the needs of our Agri-Food Industry in Northern Ireland as part of any support package brought forward by the Government at Westminster.

Thank you again for being in touch about these important issues.  Please convey my best wishes to the Committee in their ongoing work at the Assembly.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely

RT HON SIR JEFFREY DONALDSON MP
Parliamentary Party Leader – DUP
Lagan Valley