Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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249. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the deadline for compliance with Bord Bia regulations for dairy farmers. [42357/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I presume the Deputy is referring to the Bord Bia Sustainability Dairy Assurance Scheme. This is a scheme run by Bord Bia which has beendesigned to provide the necessary proof to customers of Irish dairy products that milk has been produced under both sustainability and quality assurance criteria.

The scheme is open to all milk producers with a valid herd registration who supply to milk processors in the Republic of Ireland. Generally such suppliers apply to Bord Bia, through their milk purchaser, for participation in the Scheme. Bord Bia in turn process the application, provide an information pack and then assign the farm to an auditor. A farm visit will be conducted by an independent auditor on every member’s farm at 18-month intervals at a time and day that suits the farmer. The purpose of these visits is to audit the farm against the quality assurance criteria and to collect data regarding the sustainability of the farm.

There is no specific deadline for application or the carrying out of the audit.