It has been widely said that Irish consumers should buy Irish food – some consumers suspect that it’s a desperate attempt by some unscrupulous peddlers to wrap themselves in a (national) flag of convenience. Supporting Irish primary producers (Irish farmers) should be the first point in motivational purchasing decisions from every Irish manufacturer’s perspective. However, the primary producer should be producing foods of the highest quality whilst embracing best practice. This is fundamental. If Irish food manufacturers fail to source locally, then why should consumers bother to buy from them? The only argument for Irish manufacturers sourcing outside this jurisdiction should be on the grounds of unavailability; price alone should not be a barrier and superior quality should be a prerequisite.

The Power of the Consumer:

If there is a broad acceptance of these principles of trading internally and trading fairly, the Irish consumer must exercise their influence – engaging more with Irish manufacturers and becoming more vocal at supermarket level by insisting on products that meet the following simple criteria:

- Irish manufactured
- Primary ingredient is Irish
- Best quality

If the product does not tick all boxes, then the question should be asked, “Why not?”

As consumers, we have the power to effect real change: the recently launched Love Irish Food campaign calculates that if just one third of Irish households spent only €1.67 more on Irish purchases each week, an additional €35 million would be generated for the Irish economy.
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