Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

For the Deputy's information, I have received more than 5,500 applications from dairy farmers. Buyers account for 4,700 of those applications and more than 850 have applied to sell. The amount of quota involved for this part of the year is 125 million litres. Some 125 million litres were sold the previous year, but this is only one half of the quota year because as the Deputy knows there will be a further opportunity in February and March. I will be announcing the date fairly soon at the beginning of the year, after we have evaluated the outcome of this one.

At this stage I cannot give the Deputy any notion on price because we are just going through the system to determine what variations exist at the moment. Therefore, contrary to concerns that existed heretofore, we have significant interest in this scheme, and that is good to see. As regards the future of quotas, the Commissioner indicated that she had a personal viewpoint, as had the Commission. The Commissioner, not I, indicated that the relevance of quotas was something that had to be questioned. As the Deputy knows we are now in the 2008 health check situation, looking at the reform of the quota regime. It will take place after 2015, because this comes under the Luxembourg Agreement. However, we are taking a strategic view on how we develop and support efficiencies within the system and allow the issue of scale to be dealt with. It is on the basis of those policy frameworks that we are working towards what we should like to achieve.

The issue of whether quota will be removed has not been decided. It will be a matter for Council and for some fairly serious discussions and negotiations in due course. However, no definitive view has been expressed by either me or the Government on where, in fact, we should stand on this issue. It is one that will have to be developed in consultation with Members of the Oireachtas, the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food and the farming organisations.

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