Construction has begun on a new 300-tonne-a-day flour mill in Ballycarney, Co. Wexford, in a move aimed at bringing more flour production back to Ireland and strengthening the country's bakery supply chain.

Slaney Flour, a joint venture between Hemelter Ireland and Ballycarney Grain Ltd., marked the start of work on the facility, which will bring production closer to the bakers and food producers it serves.

Ireland currently imports around 260,000 tonnes of flour annually, mainly from the UK, Germany and France. Increasing domestic milling capacity is expected to reduce reliance on imports and limit exposure to weather-related disruptions and geopolitical risks.

Speaking at the event, Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, said: "I am delighted to join the team at Slaney Flour today and their colleagues for the start of this very exciting venture, a milestone project for our indigenous food sector. Ireland’s bakery sector is a vital part of our economy, and increasing flour milling capacity within Ireland will further strengthen supply chains and resilience, while improving competitiveness."

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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, also welcomed the start of construction, highlighting the project’s potential to support Irish agriculture and food security.

"I am delighted to attend the commencement of construction of this new flour mill in Ballycarney, which marks a renewed ambition for Irish flour milling that speaks directly to the ambitions set out in Food Vision 2030. I hope this will contribute to greater food security, new opportunities for our tillage farmers, greater resilience in our food supply chain and a stronger connection between Irish agriculture, Irish enterprise and the Irish consumer. I wish Slaney Flour Mill every success in the years ahead and I look forward to seeing this site develop, to seeing more Irish wheat being turned into Irish flour, and to seeing that flour being used to produce high-quality products by our globally renowned agri-food industry."

Hemelter Ireland is part of the family-owned Hemelter Mühle group, which has milled flour in Germany since 1892. The company has supplied Irish bakeries for more than 20 years, currently providing around 40,000 tonnes of flour annually. It operates five milling locations across Germany and Poland.

Its joint venture partner, Ballycarney Grain, is run by brothers Andrew and Raymond Kavanagh from their family tillage farm in Ballycarney. The business sources, dries and stores grain from around 150 farmers across the South-East and provides an agronomy service covering the process from seed to harvest.

The new mill is intended to strengthen links between Irish tillage farmers, domestic food producers and consumers by increasing the amount of flour produced from Irish wheat.