Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

There are no anticipated increases because we do not propose an increase. We propose a legal framework to allow a Minister to make a decision in the area if he or she wishes to with regard to disease levy. To be clear, the receipts for 2011 for the bovine disease levy and compensation amounted to €5.67 million. On-farm market valuation compensation for 2011 amounted to €13.781 million and add-on compensation schemes for 2011 amounted to €2.873 million. I need to check with regard to the figures for compensation but I would say it is compensation for farmers with disease outbreaks.

A levy scheme is in place at present. We have levies in factories with regard to the contribution to the work of Bord Bia for the meat industry. There is also a series of levies in the dairy industry. This is not a new concept. The 1979 Act covers the issue raised by Senator Ó Domhnaill with regard to bovine slaughter and bovine export. I would not like to mislead people. This legislation modernises the 1979 Act and gives powers to the Minister to be able to introduce additional levies around animal health if he or she wants to do so. The idea that we would not give a Minister the power to do that would be extraordinary. It is a political call for a Minister to make that decision but to prevent a Minister from having the flexibility to introduce levies as a way to prevent levies from being introduced at some stage in the future goes against what we all stand for, which is to try to give the political system the power to be able to make decisions, as appropriate.