A joint statement from the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU), Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) and Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association (NIMEA) has expressed a “strongly held view” that the PGI application for Irish Grass Fed Beef must include Northern Ireland from the outset, rather than having it amended at a later date.

Minister McConalogue has suggested that he will “inform the European Commission that Ireland would support the PGI being extended on an all-island basis, when a grass-fed verification system is in place in Northern Ireland”.

UFU president Victor Chestnutt said that “the last thing we want is to have to object to the Republic of Ireland application, which would be in no one’s best interests.”

LMC chief executive Ian Stevenson added that “unfortunately we have a long history on the island of Ireland of not co-operating as well as we should across the border when it comes to the registration of PGIs”, referring to a previous application abandoned 10 years ago.