Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The entitlement will be determined in a fair, balanced and transparent way under certain procedures and with permission from the Commission. The Commission is not buying back quota but asking sugar manufacturers to renounce quota, so taking the quota out of the system altogether.

There is over-production of sugar and there are pricing problems and, as the Deputy knows, a WTO panel decision went against the European Union. Those are the reasons why we had to reform the sugar industry in the first place.

I travelled to Brussels last Thursday morning to meet with the Commissioner to seek clarification on a number of issues. It is, after all, a package worth €310 million. I received clarification on a number of issues. The requirement to deliver beet in the year preceding the year of quota renunciation has been removed, which was very important. I worked with farmers to determine the reference years for entitlement to single farm payments and I believe we have made the right decision. I also received clarification that sugar produced in the first year of the reform will be liable for the restructuring levy but, in the event of the quota being renounced for the second year, the levy will not be payable in that or subsequent years.

There are often misquotes so I will clarify further. The levy, €25 million this year, depends on whether sugar is produced this year, which will determine whether we grow sugar.

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