Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 82: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will review the operation of the milk quota regime whereby farmers who lose a land or quota lease are barred from assistance from temporary leasing if they have received previous assistance under various quota schemes administrated by her Department if that assistance exceeded prescribed amounts. [27091/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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A farmer who has lost a land and quota lease is treated as a priority category in the allocation of quota under my Department's Temporary Leasing Scheme. The allocation takes place according to certain criteria, which for example in the case of a producer whose lease expired on 31 March 2007 meant that quota would have been allocated under the first phase of the 2007/2008 scheme on the following basis: 80% of the milk quota leased with land, less

(i)any additional quota granted under the Agenda 2000 Schemes,

(ii)any permanent quota granted by the Milk Quota Appeals Tribunal since the 2001/2002 milk quota year,

(iii)any quantity purchased under the 2007/2008 Milk Quota Trading Schemes.

Some concern has been expressed that because all quota bought in the Trading Schemes, and not just that bought from the priority pool, is being taken into account, the total amount deducted from the 80% entitlement may leave some applicants with effectively no entitlement at all. While I think that these cases are few in number, and notwithstanding the fact that the current practice is the same as that operated in previous years when the amount purchased under the Restructuring Schemes rather than the Trading Schemes was deducted, my Department is reviewing the matter ahead of the second phase of this year's Temporary Leasing Scheme.