Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

This question relates to the milk quota and I will give a short answer so people have the opportunity to ask questions. Currently, Ireland is at risk of being fined at the end of the milk quota year next March for being over the quota, meaning superlevy fines of 28 cent per litre will be applied to people producing over their quota. I do not want to see that so I encourage farmers to try to operate within quota or reduce surplus milk if already over the quota. In the meantime we will be working hard to try to get some kind of flexibility on the so-called soft landing issue. As of today, we have not made the kind of progress which allows me send a signal to farmers that we are off the hook. We are not.

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