Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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805. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the superlevy repayments for a person (details supplied) could be deferred for 2016, in light of the current low milk prices to allow the person a period of recovery. [13207/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The rules governing the EU milk quota regime, including the superlevy system for production above quota, were set at EU level and it is not within the gift of individual Member States to amend the rules. However at the request of Ireland and some other member states the EU Commission introduced a provision last year permitting payment of the levy in three annual instalments, without interest, on the understanding that the full amount of the levy was paid to the Commission by the Member State in 2015. The Scheme required applicants to pay at least one third of their levy by October 2015 with the balance to be paid in 2016 and 2017. Ireland was one of the few Member States to implement this scheme and make it available to its farmers. The scheme design was agreed in advance with the co-ops and farm organisations here. The person named by the Deputy is an applicant under this Scheme.

As part of the discussions in the run-up to the March Council of Agriculture Ministers, Ireland proposed a further deferral of the payment to 2017 and 2018, to ease the financial burden on liable farmers in 2016. I also raised the matter with Commissioner Phil Hogan, in our recent bilateral meeting, as well as at the recent Council of Ministers meeting and encouraged him to reflect again on whether a legal basis could be found to facilitate a further deferral in superlevy repayments for farmers. However the European Commission advised that the legal basis for the Regulations underpinning the scheme are no longer in existence and therefore further amendments were not possible. While Ireland has again raised the matter with the Commission, we understand that the view of its legal services remains that there is no legal basis for any adjustment to the timelines provided for in the relevant regulations.