Colin Gordon, chairman of Food and Drink Industry Ireland

The Brexit vote is a fracture of the single market and Irish companies face a massive challenge retaining our position in the UK food supply chain.

Our primary aim has to be to retain our market position in the UK, grow market share in other existing markets and to increase our market diversification.

A lot of time was put in by the industry to identify the enablers to deliver the growth targets in FoodWise 2025.

At the very least, these enablers need to be challenged as to their fitness for purpose, their speed of implementation and their flexibility in light of changes to circumstances. Effectively, where appropriate, the enablers now need to be challenged and changed or enhanced to reflect the reality. With one in eight jobs in the economy linked to agri food, failure to do this will be damaging to the wider economy and not just agri food.

John Noonan, sales and marketing director, Flahavans

Our domestic business is our most important market, but we also export our brand abroad to markets including the UK, but also other markets such as South Korea and UAE. Exports account for nearly 25% of our revenue, so as well as taking steps to protect our domestic performance, our management team, in consultation with advisers such as Bord Bia and PWC, has been working to maintain our competitiveness in terms of route to market, existing international trade, supply chain, currency and customs, VAT and excise.

We are pleased to see that the EU has clearly recognised the special position of Ireland and the closeness of our relationship with the UK. Obviously a soft border would be a key outcome but, in the meantime, there is a need for any transitional arrangements to ensure continuity and certainty. Ultimately, we would hope and wish for a comprehensive free trade agreement between the EU and the UK.

Rory Fanning, managing director, Slaney Foods

We don’t want to lose any of this market we have in the UK, which is taking 55% of all Irish beef.

We think that everything has to be done in terms of all of our actions in the negotiations, political and otherwise; we have to talk in terms of a soft Brexit.

I know these are awful clichés at this stage but the UK doesn’t seem to be for turning in terms of a hard exit from the EU. Although you never know what might happen with the political situation in the UK – they’re in such a state of flux there at the moment. But it’s just so important that we get the soft Brexit.

We have three things coinciding here together. One is Brexit, the second is that we have our concerns about the budget for the new CAP in 2020 and the third one is the climate change issue. We almost have the perfect storm with all three of these coming together.

Tara McCarthy, chief executive, Bord Bia

First of all we should do everything we can to defend our UK position.

We need to understand our competitors, who they are, whether they UK or EU based, what is their approach and how are they going to behave.

The second aspect is to look at the continental EU market and where there are opportunities to build our Irish presence further.

On expanding in new and existing markets, trade missions are key and are about building opportunities for business.

Sometimes is it is not just about euro exports, but can be about future-proofing ourselves, and the businesses that sell their products there.

For example, Saudi Arabian dairy company Almarai works with 30 different Irish suppliers. We need to ensure that we understand what their future needs will be.