Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 472: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the measures being taken both at Irish and EU level to assist dairy farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28715/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Last November, when it became apparent that dairy commodity prices internationally were in decline, I pressed the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Mariann Fisher Boel, to re-activate dairy market supports. These had been suspended since 2006 because of the historically high milk prices that had prevailed in the intervening period.

The first step taken by the Commission, following my intervention, was to introduce the aid scheme for private storage of butter a full two months ahead of the normal date, ensuring that market support for butter was available in January instead of March. The scheme remains in place and has already supported the storage of some 96,000 tonnes of butter at EU level. Public intervention for butter and skimmed milk powder opened in March. When the mandatory limits of butter and SMP to be purchased at the intervention price were reached, 30,000 tonnes and 109,000 tonnes respectively, I secured agreement for the continuation of these schemes under tendering arrangements that are close to intervention prices.

To date some 81,000 tonnes of butter have been bought into intervention, equal to 8 per cent of the butter production in January to June. As regards skimmed milk powder, 203,000 tonnes have been purchased into stock, equal to more than 38 per cent of the SMP production in January to June this year. In all, 20,000 tonnes of butter and 27,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder from Ireland have been funded under these schemes at an approximate value of €60 million to Irish dairy processors.

Also re-introduced in January were export refunds for butter, cheese, skimmed milk powder and whole milk powder. So far this year, licenses to export some 96,000 tonnes of butter and butteroil and 123,000 of SMP have been issued, which will enable these quantities to utilise export refunds for export outside the Community. Similarly, licenses were issued in respect of cheese exports for 129,000 tonnes. The support value of this trade amounts to a further €113 million when these products are exported. Taken together there has been a considerable commitment of EU funds to support the dairy sector. However, with the market continuing to show resistance, the Commissioner has agreed to bring forward proposals to the Council of Ministers next week with a view to continuing to keep open the private storage scheme for butter and intervention for butter and SMP. If agreed by the Council, these measures will be a further boost to the sector. I will also continue to press for the removal of the 'free at frontier price' for cheese, which has limited the export of cheddar and other cheese products.