Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Question 442: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will consent to the sale of milk quota with land in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21257/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Regulation 8(4) of SI No. 277 of 2008 provides that a person shall not sell land to which milk quota is attached if the amount of milk quota exceeds a ratio of 12,500 litres per hectare, except with the consent of the Minister.

The person named recently submitted an application to my Department seeking consent to the sale of 4.047 hectares (10 acres) of land with a milk quota of 90,920 litres (20,000 Gallons) attached.

Following examination of the application, it was considered that the ratio of quota to the land being sold, which equated to 22,468 litres per hectare, significantly exceeded the threshold specified in the aforementioned Regulation and it was for this reason the application was not granted. The named person has been informed accordingly.

My Department has not received any further correspondence on this case and consequently I do not see any reason to alter the original decision.

Should the named person wish to progress the matter, he might consider reviewing his application with regard to the ratio of land to quota involved. It should be borne in mind that in cases where the ratio does not exceed the threshold, there is no requirement for Ministerial consent.

Alternatively, as the named person has not been in a position to utilise his entire quota in recent years, he might also wish to consider the option of offering his excess quota for sale through the next milk quota trading scheme, details of which I intend to announce towards the end of August.