Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am informed that the initial producer was and still is on the board of Glanbia. The levies that were repaid were retrospective and were only paid when the individual was caught out. It is a classic case of a fraudulent attempt to get away with more than €300,000 worth of milk, some 5.5 million litres.

It is more than a year since I first raised the matter. In fairness, I have been corresponding with the Minister through parliamentary questions and by other means. In June of this year, the Minister had still not heard back from the Chief State Solicitor's office. In response to another parliamentary question on 22 September, I learned that the Minister had received a reply from the Chief State Solicitor's office. There was a reference to "having regard to his opinion". What was the opinion of the Chief State Solicitor's office? Did the office suggest proceeding with a prosecution? The situation is that somebody on the board of a major processing company in this country was a party to a fraud involving €300,000. It is very damaging for the entire industry that people would be allowed to get away with that.

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