Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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249. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding milk fines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23431/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Super levy Instalment scheme was introduced in 2015. This scheme was offered by the EU Commission to Member States to implement on a voluntary basis to allow producers who had incurred super levy debt to spread the cost over three years (2015–2017) interest free. This repayment schedule took the form of a 33% lump sum in 2015 and the balance to be spread over five equal instalments in 2016 and 2017 over the peak production period of May to September. Ireland was one the few MS with a super levy bill to introduce the scheme.

At the end of the milk quota regime in April 2015 Ireland exceeded its quota by 4.4%, resulting in a super levy bill of €71 million for 6,400 Irish farmers. Each Member State was obliged to settle the liability in full in 2015 with the EU Commission and could then re-coup the money from its farmers as per the scheme. My Department chose to implement the scheme on the basis that it would minimise the burden on the sector during a period of planned expansion here as well as helping with the immediate cash flow difficulties for farmers faced with such a bill.

In 2015 2,700 producers opted to pay their full levy (€16.7 million) to my Department up front with €18.9m collected from the remaining 3,700 producers by 1 October 2015. These 3,700 producers are the participants in the instalment scheme and 2015 was the first year of their three-year repayment phase. My Department introduced the scheme of phased recoupment from farmers who had the option of joining the scheme and spreading their repayment over three years.

This scheme was financed from Exchequer funds and so my Department is responsible for ensuring that the funds advanced to the Commission on behalf of farmers are recouped on behalf of the taxpayer. The person in question incurred a superlevy fine because they supplied almost double their assigned quota in the 2014/15 quota year.

In any event, given that the milk quota regime ended on 31 March 2015 and all superlevy liabilities due to the EU Commission were paid by Ireland on 1 November 2015, it is not possible at this stage to have any super levy liabilities recalculated for individual producers. There is no mechanism within the relevant EU Regulations implementing the scheme to cancel any of the liabilities.