asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether suppliers of milk to co-operative creameries are entitled to a ration of creamery butter; the extent of such ration; whether it is given irrespective of the quantity of milk supplied to the creamery or of the fact that the supplier may retain, for his own use, a portion of his normal supply; the quantity of creamery butter issued, in respect of such rations, during 1946; and the steps which have been taken to ascertain the extent to which the butter issued in respect of this ration is, in fact, required for the domestic purposes of those to whom it is supplied.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Milk Suppliers' Butter Ration.
To encourage milk suppliers to send the maximum quantity of milk to creamery societies for the production of butter they are given a special allowance of creamery butter in lieu of the ordinary domestic ration.
Butter permits are issued each month by my Department to creamery societies for a global quantity of butter for distribution to their milk suppliers and there are two bases of allocation for these permits which were agreed with representatives of these societies:—
(1) a maximum monthly quantity equivalent to the sales of butter to milk suppliers by creamery societies in August, 1942, which was adopted as a datum period, subject to a reduction of 10 per cent. in December and a reduction of 20 per cent. in each of the months January to April, inclusive, or
(2) where the sales of butter by creamery societies in August, 1942, were below normal a maximum monthly quantity representing an average weekly allowance of 12 ounces of butter per head for each milk supplier and individual members of his household.
In view of their local knowledge and in order to conserve supplies to the fullest extent possible, the distribution of butter to individual milk suppliers is left to the discretion of creamery societies and I believe that they take all factors into consideration including the quantity of milk supplied to them by individual milk suppliers.
The quantity of creamery butter allowed under permit to creamery societies in 1946 for distribution to their milk suppliers was 118,000 cwts. and the numerous surveys made by my Department revealed no grounds for thinking that creamery societies do not restrict the issue of butter to their milk suppliers to the quantites required by them for domestic use.