Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Question 183: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans for the development of the dairy sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3690/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Capital investment and research and development are priorities in the Agri Vision 2015 Plan of Action, which I launched in 2006 and which set out actions for building a knowledge-based, competitive, innovative and consumer focussed agri-food sector.

The Dairy Processing Investment Fund, which I launched last September, represents an investment package of €300 million for the dairy sector over the next three years. The investment fund includes €100 million of Government grant assistance. The objective of the Dairy Processing Investment Fund is to support capital investment related to the processing of dairy products. The intention of the fund is to underpin competitiveness and viability of the dairy industry in Ireland.

Enterprise Ireland are responsible for the management of the scheme and implementation of the Fund. They will play a key role, together with my Department, in the evaluation of the suitability of investment projects submitted for grant assistance.

All applications have now been received and the fund has been oversubscribed with projects from all the major dairy companies. The commercial and technical evaluation of applications has begun and announcement of grant awards will take place later this year. One of the key aims of this package is to generate greater efficiencies for Irish dairy processors, which will support better prices paid to producers.

There is also a need for improved efficiency and long-term competitiveness at producer level. Reducing costs and increasing scale means getting more milk quota into the hands of active and committed producers at the lowest possible cost. The Milk Quota Trading Scheme run last week was a successful step towards meeting these objectives. Over 73m litres was transacted in the scheme successfully and I believe that this will build confidence in trading milk quota through a market-based system in future.

The development of a modern, competitive, innovative, market focused and highly efficient dairy sector is absolutely essential within the context of global challenges. The greatest of these for 2007 is the Doha Round of WTO Negotiations. There is significant pressure on all participants to reach an agreement and I will continue to push for the best possible outcome for the Irish dairy sector.