Jimmy Devins (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 123: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans for the poultry sector in view of difficulties resulting from the outbreak of avian influenza in other European countries. [24479/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

In April the Council of Agriculture Ministers adopted Regulation 679/2006 which provides a legal basis for exceptional market support measures for the poultry sector where there are serious market disturbances directly attributed to a loss in consumer confidence arising from the avian influenza situation.

I submitted a proposal to the Commission requesting co-funding and approval for a range of measures to assist those in the industry who suffered financial losses arising from the recent disturbances in the poultry market. These proposed measures included schemes of payment to breeders who had to destroy hatching eggs and reduce their breeding stock capacity, to growers and processors who had to reduce throughputs and to operators who had to carry unusually high stock levels of poultry meat due to a virtual collapse in our export markets.

A Commission regulation was adopted at the Poultry Management Committee on 21 June last which includes several of the measures in my proposal. Some of the details of this regulation will need to be amended at a meeting of the same Committee which is due to consider the matter again on 5 July.

So far, the Commission has refused to approve any measures in relation to accumulated stocks of poultry meat. I along with a number of other Member States raised this issue at Council last week and I will continue to press for some assistance under this heading.