Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the amount raised in 2006, 2007 and 2008 from liquid milk supplier levies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25980/09]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Under the Milk (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1979 as amended, a fee of €0.001 per litre is imposed on all milk intended for manufacturing or for the preparation of drinking milk. The fee contributes to the cost of providing the food safety inspection service and other work involved in the administration of EU market management schemes and is a requirement under EU legislation.

Under the Bovine Diseases Levies Act 1979 as amended, all milk received for processing from a herd is subject to a levy at a rate of €0.0006 per litre. The levy also provides that all bovines slaughtered or exported live are subject to a levy of €1.27 per animal. This levy is the farmers' contribution towards the cost of the compensation paid under the TB and brucellosis eradication schemes.

The National Milk Agency is a statutory body established under the Milk (Regulation of Supply) Act 1994 to regulate the supply of milk for liquid consumption throughout the State and to ensure all-year-round supply. The funds raised by the agency by means of a levy of €0.00145 a litre of milk are used to finance the annual running costs of the agency including wages, PRSI and pension.

The total receipts from these levies for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 are set out in the following table.

Ireland incurred a milk superlevy of €11.2 million in the 2007-08 milk quota year for milk deliveries in excess of Ireland's national quota. There was no milk superlevy in 2005-06 and 2006-07.