Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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479. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to put in place a scheme under delegated regulation C(2016)2122 via the urgency procedure authorising agreements and decisions of co-operatives and other forms of producer organisations in the milk and milk products sector on the planning of production; his further plans for any alternatives to alleviate the impact of the dairy crisis on Irish farmers given that the European Commissioner has stated that he does not have the tools to suspend the superlevy; if he will provide a breakdown of the allocation of the €13.7 million under the aid package for European Union farmers since 2015; the amount of this that has been drawn down; the timeframe left to allocate moneys from the package; the sectors that have benefited; his plans to allocate any remaining moneys under the package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16914/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The proposal referred to by the Deputy permits co-operatives or producer organisations in the dairy sector to engage in concerted voluntary supply control among their members. Ireland has supported these measures provided they are voluntary, temporary and financed only at individual Member State level. I do not believe that there is demand from the co-operative sector in Ireland for a supply control measure.

The EU targeted aid package referred to by the Deputy was matched by Exchequer funding, giving a total amount of €27.4m. Some €27m has been paid to date, with a small number of outstanding cases still being examined. In total some 17,600 dairy farmers received a payment of €1,395, with c. 1,500 of these getting an additional €1,000 under a Young Farmer top up. Just under 300 pig producers have also received c.€3,300 each and my Department is considering allocating some funding under this package to the Irish Pig Society to further their work in representing smaller scale producers. Payments must be made by 30th June 2016.

A number of other market support measures have been put in place at EU level, including an increase in the ceiling for SMP intervention to 350,000 tonnes, which was sought by Ireland. In terms of input costs at farm level, I have called on the Commission to consider looking at temporary suspension of EU import tariffs on fertilisers to reduce input costs for Irish and EU farmers. I have also called for a further targeted aid package for farmers and for a facility to advance 75% of the Basic Payment Scheme to farmers in 2016 to assist with cash flow.

At a National level, there have been a number of imaginative initiatives at co-op level, including fixed price and margin contracts, and flexible financing instruments. I would like to see more of this from industry. Developing new and existing markets is also part of the solution. In this regard I intend to lead a trade mission to the Far East in the early Autumn, and dairy will be a significant feature. Work is also continuing through Teagasc, ICBF and AHI to increase farm efficiency, reduce the costs of production and increase margins. Making farmers more resilient to price volatility is key.

I have also been talking to the main banks to exercise forbearance with farmers temporarily under financial pressure, and a number of other options to improve the availability of liquidity are being explored. At today’s dairy forum I launched a new cash flow tool which will assist farmers in managing their finances and help them in engaging with banks.

I am acutely conscious of the pressure farmers are under at present, and I can assure the Deputy that I am committed to exploring all of the appropriate options for providing assistance to the farm sector through this temporary price trough. I met with the dairy forum today and discussed these issues with the key stakeholders.