asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he will make grants available to milk suppliers associations to enable them to provide their own independent milk testing laboratory apparatus for checking purposes.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Milk Testing Apparatus.
46.
Arrangements already exist for the check-testing by my Department of milk samples at creameries and I am not satisfied that there is need for further measures at present.
With regard to milk for liquid consumption, there are statutory minimum standards of quality, the enforcement of which is a matter for the local authorities concerned. Some liquid milk pasteurisers require standards higher than the legal minima but I do not consider that intervention by me in arrangements such as these, which are freely entered into by the pasteurisers and their suppliers, would be warranted.
Surely, if suppliers' associations themselves are prepared to spend their own money on creating an independent testing organisation and machinery, the Minister should provide a grant towards that? These associations are not asking for all the money, they are merely asking for a grant towards the provision of the machinery and the testing station whereby they can do their own tests which they could compare then with the creamery tests.
Is the Deputy aware of the new arrangements arrived at in recent discussions between myself and the Cork Milk Producers Association? There are new methods of satisfying some of the well-founded criticisms that I found when I met those people and they are now in operation. It is a bit long to read it out here but there is a new way of doing these things.
The Minister is not talking to the producers' associations that exist in my part of the country, but I am aware that in my part of the country there is a desire on the part of the associations to provide this service so that they can do their own tests and compare them with the tests done at the creamery. I am asking the Minister if he will consider providing a grant towards the money necessary to provide the equipment?
I have considered it, Deputy.
And the answer is "No"?
If these people want to use their own money obviously I cannot stop them, but I do not see that there is a real necessity for it. We arrived at new arrangements in my discussions with the Cork Milk Producers' Association and there was adequate publicity given to this so that I presume even the Deputy's friends, who do not talk to me, can read and they will know that this new method is more satisfactory to the milk producers. It has been agreed between an association that understands the problems of the milk producers and myself and I am prepared to stand on that until I see it tried out rather than take it from anybody else.
Does the Minister not think that those associations in my constituency should have a voice as well as the group in Cork who did talk to the Minister?
It is available to all of them.
Do you wish them to read what is happening in the newspapers and have no voice? Is that Fianna Fáil policy?
I wish everybody to be informed of this very useful development that is taking place and has been brought about for the producers' benefit by a milk producers association and until we see whether that works badly or well there is no point in talking about making other arrangements.
With these noses against the window pane and no permission to talk.
I have no difficulty whatever nor has there been at any time, as far as I am aware, any difficulty about communication with the accredited representatives of the milk producers of this country, and I am talking about the whole of the country.
That is news to me.