Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The position is clear. Unless the Commission can be persuaded to change the regulation on the treatment of butterfat levels, they will remain as they are. This puts Ireland under pressure, which I acknowledge. When I last looked at the figures, we were 0.006% under quota. There has been a very early grass growing season this year - we are about one month ahead of schedule in some parts of the country. This is putting farmers under huge pressure to try to control milk output in order to stay within quota. While I agree with the Deputy in terms of what he wants to do, I have a responsibility to give a realistic assessment of what is possible politically in the next couple of weeks.

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