Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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502. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if funding will be provided to fund a pilot programme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35445/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am fully supportive of the use of fixed price mechanisms which strengthen the position of the primary supplier in the supply chain and I am pleased that there has been significant developments in recent years between milk purchasers and their primary suppliers, which strengthen the position of dairy farmers and further a fair and transparent supply chain.

The pilot programme referred to by the Deputy has the potential to further strengthen the position of the dairy farmer in the supply chain by allowing farmers to lock-in their milk price in real time and complements these developments in the dairy industry. While I would hope to see milk purchasers, their representative bodies and their suppliers engage with this initiative, there is no funding mechanism available from my Department to provide support for this type of pilot.