The Taoiseach has announced tonight that the ban on Irish beef has now been lifted by China.
Enda Kenny has also declared that 2015 will be the year of recovery for rural Ireland.
Opening what could be the party's last national conference before a general election, the Taoiseach says there are better times ahead for rural Ireland and promised 2015 would be the year of rural recovery.
This year he says jobs and investment will flow in greater numbers to all parts of the country.
A national tourism strategy will be unveiled in the coming weeks. He says this will create 50,000 new jobs in restaurants, hotels, B&Bs and other tourism related businesses in the next 10 years.
Enda Kenny says Ireland has now reached agreement with China to lift the ban on Irish beef, just weeks after a similar agreement with America.
This, he says, is a huge opportunity as China's population is the biggest individual market in the world:
The Irish Farmers Association is welcoming the lifting of the ban on Irish beef in China. Their President Eddie Downey says this is a mark of recognition for Ireland's food standards:
The news comes following the arrival earlier this month of Irish beef into the US market for the first time in more than 15 years, after the lifting of a ban preventing European beef from entering the US market during the BSE crisis.
Originally posted at 20.08
