Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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193. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the Government funding received by the National Dairy Council; and if they are required to submit accounts to his, or any Department. [34524/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The National Dairy Council (NDC) is a private farmer-funded representative body in the agri-food sector. It is not a State Body. There is no requirement for this Body to submit their accounts to my Department. I am not aware of any other Government Department that the NDC may be associated with.

My Department is the Irish competent authority for the EU-funded School Schemes, which support the distribution of milk, fruit and vegetables to schoolchildren across the EU. The NDC is approved as an aid applicant under the EU School Milk Scheme. In this regard, the NDC receives payments of EU funds through my Department for implementing the school milk scheme. Supporting national funds for this scheme are also paid by my Department. In the school year 2021-2022, €322,000 was paid by my Department to the NDC from national funds; this was in addition to €854,000 paid by my Department to the NDC from EU funds.

Payments made to the NDC for the School Scheme are made in arrears, on application by the organisation, on a recoupment basis for eligible expenditure, accompanied by the required supporting documentation.

As part of the EU School Scheme, the EU Commission and other EU institutions/services and their agents retain the right to audit and examine the relevant financial records of the NDC, as does the internal audit unit of my Department.