asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason for the proposed clawback of milk quotas instigated under the new leasing arrangements as these clawbacks can wipe out a person's quota over a number of years.
Written Answers. - Clawback of Milk Quotas.
48.
The clawback scheme is designed to favour leasing by small and medium sized farmers and to provide a national reserve for certain priority classes of farmers. This reserve will be available for: (i) young farmers under 35 years of age, with certain educational and training qualifications, who have no quotas at present; (ii) producers with quotas under 10,000 gallons, and (iii) producers who sold land between 1 January 1983 and 21 May 1984 and unwittingly relinquished their quotas. The reserve is being established by means of percentage deductions from quotas being transferred via land sales or leases. The deduction in the case of sales is 5 per cent. In the case of leases no clawback applies where the lessee's quota, together with the quota involved in the leasing transaction, is less than 25,000 gallons. Deductions above that level are on a graduated basis. The maximum deduction — 25 per cent — applies only where the total quota involved in a leasing transaction is over 100,000 gallons.