Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 568: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the amount she has paid out on advertising the milk quota restructuring for 2006; her views on whether her new proposal for milk quota sales through agents, marts and so on will virtually kill off this proposal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14647/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The 2006 milk quota restructuring scheme is the second year of a two-year restructuring programme. The public notice announcing the 2006 scheme was published in four national newspapers and the direct cost of this amounted to €13,708.23 including VAT.

In March I announced my intention to move to a more open market system for transferring milk quotas, which will come into effect on 1 April 2007. I made this decision because the current restructuring model will not meet the future needs of the industry and a more effective response is required to meet future competitive pressures. The timing of this announcement was deliberate so that farmers would be aware, in advance of this year's restructuring scheme, that the current model would be altered in succeeding years. In waiting a year to implement this policy I am respecting the commitment I gave in 2005 to a two-year programme, ending in March 2007. This also allows for a full examination of options for dealing with the issues raised following the completion of the first stage of consultations with the farm organisations.