Ireland’s agricultural sector has specialised towards the export of dairy products and beef, mainly to the UK and the EU. At the same time, domestic consumers are now reliant on food imports.

Recent global events have nonetheless raised the question of whether Ireland should be producing more foods for the domestic Irish population rather than accepting that global trade will provide. It is also not about quantity per se, but also about producing food diversity, and that is currently limited.

While there are calls for Ireland to become much more self-sufficient in staple products, it should be remembered that the import reliance partly arose from consumers’ demands and the consumers switch to using supermarkets who, in turn, have sought lower cost and/or more accessible products from overseas. Consumer demand for year-around availability will also have had a significant impact.