Written answers

Thursday, 16 June 2016

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Superlevy Fine

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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247. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of participants and the amount of funding remaining under the superlevy instalment scheme; if he will consider postponing the collection of the remaining instalment payments for up to two years, given the severe market volatility in the sector and associated cash flow difficulties; if these fines will be imposed at European Union level should he pursue a postponement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16574/16]

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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A breakdown of the sums outstanding under the super Levy Instalment Scheme is outlined in the following table. The rules governing the EU milk quota regime, including the super levy 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.

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 super levy repayments for farmers. However the European Commission advised that the legal basis for the Regulations under-pinning 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.

I would like to reassure the Deputy that I am fully aware of the pressures on dairy farmers right now and I am committed to working with all players in the sector to address these issues and ensure that we have a sustainable dairy sector going forward. As one of the proposers of the Dairy Forum my goal is to ensure that it continues to work constructively as a vehicle for addressing issues of concern to farmers and others in the sector and I have called a meeting for next Tuesday 21 June. The Forum has come forward with some good initiatives for farmers already, including an initiative on improving cash flow planning at farm level, which will be rolled out shortly.

CountyNumber of applicantsDeferred Super Levy €
Carlow69497,908
Cavan1221,224,985
Clare30272,251
Cork9208,465,299
Donegal31782,527
Dublin9133,636
Galway78961,368
Kerry1461,933,785
Kildare55506,313
Kilkenny3872,892,722
Laois1921,584,850
Leitrim320,724
Limerick1661,678,143
Longford23203,038
Louth54697,015
Mayo559,233
Meath1701,757,945
Monaghan66883,001
Offaly87853,049
Roscommon217,953
Sligo154,869
Tipperary4364,273,994
Waterford2922,217,157
Westmeath59830,780
Wexford2662,158,123
Wicklow72627,021
Totals374135,587,689

Being paid in 10 equal amounts - 5 payments in 2016 and 5 payments in 2017.

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