The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, has said it is imperative that food supply chains are kept intact during the Covid-19 crisis.
Speaking on RTÉ's CountryWide he said the Government is focused on ensuring supermarket shelves remain stocked with high quality food and farmers and fishermen are "critical to that endeavour".
He said it is critical such services are maintained and he is satisfied that all necessary steps are being taken so that the food chain supply continues.
However he acknowledged that the fishing industry is facing significant difficulties because of the collapse of the markets that it supplies into globally.