Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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209. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the recent proposals he has submitted to the European Commission in relation to a possible adjustment of the butterfat coefficient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49002/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the related issues of milk quota abolition, the “soft landing” and the butterfat coefficient correction have been the subject of much discussion at EU level over the recent past. Milk quotas will be abolished from the end of March 2015 and I have been very active in seeking to secure further measures to ensure a soft landing for milk producers in the period in advance of this. At numerous Agriculture Council meetings over the recent past, most recently at the beginning of this week in Brussels, the issue of additional measures to ensure a ‘soft landing’ to milk quota abolition in 2015 was discussed. Along with some other like-minded Ministers I have consistently called on the Commission to take action to ease the burden of the super levy in the final year of the quota regime, via the butterfat correction in particular.

However a number of other Member States are opposed to any action on the issue of further soft landing measures and have actively sought to link the issue to possible measures to regulate supply after quotas are gone. Amongst other options I deem feasible, I would certainly be strongly supportive of a facility to phase the burden of superlevy payments over an extended time frame, in what will already be a difficult year for the sector. My opinion is that this is the very least that should happen.

In preparing their enterprises for the post quota era, I have at all times urged that farmers have regard to the fact that milk quotas would remain in place until April 2015, along with the associated superlevy regime. I would again urge farmers to use the time between now and the removal of milk quotas to identify, with their dairy adviser, steps to manage both their milk supply and their dairy herds so that they have an efficient herd as they enter the post quota era.