asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether he will raise and press the issue of a national cereal quota in the coming EC farm talks.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - National Cereal Quota.
34.
While I see some merit in the concept of national cereal quotas, there was no support for such a mechanism at the recent European Council. The Council decided on a figure of 160 million tonnes as a guarantee threshold for cereal production in the Community in the marketing years 1988-89 to 1991-92 but it is not proposed that this figure be divided up between member states. Accordingly, while I will be continuing to seek the best possible deal for Irish cereal producers in the forthcoming prices negotiations, I would see little point at this stage in raising the issue of national quotas.
Great dangers arise with regard to the situation that has been negotiated by the Minister. Is he now telling us that he has not raised, and will not raise, a claim for a national quota in the light of those dangers?
No, I am not; I did not say that. I have constantly raised the question of a national quota at the Council of Ministers but I am sorry to tell the Deputy that, with the possible exception of one other country, I was on my own. We discussed this matter at considerable length and I do not see any possibility of a national quota being agreed, although I would favour it in Ireland's case. As regards the dangers involved in what has been agreed at the European Council, it is very important to acknowledge quite the opposite. First, as far as our cereal growers are concerned the European Community threshold, before any co-responsibility levy applies, has been increased to 160 million tonnes. I want to put that in the context of the production levels which in 1986 were 154 million tonnes and in 1987, 153 million tonnes. The likelihood is that there may not be any penalty by way of co-responsibility. The second point I wish to make, and this is particularly relevant to small producers here, is that they will be exempt from the impact of the co-responsibility levy. That will cover the vast bulk of our producers. Once again, I am waiting for the regulation to be proposed at the Council of Ministers. I do not think that what emerged at the European Council was a disaster from our point of view; it was quite the opposite.
It is clear there is an opportunity to raise the matter again and that the regulation has not yet been settled and must come before Council. It is also clear, and the experts so advise me, that the big producers in the Paris Basin, in East Anglia and in parts of Italy can absorb the co-responsibility levy and the extra 3 per cent cut far greater than the small producers such as ours. Is there not a great danger that, unless we have a national quota such as applies to milk and sugar, our cereal producers may be wiped out as a consequence of the activities of the major producers on the Continent and in the UK?
Having regard to the nature of our cereal production and the size of our producers by comparison with those in the Paris Basin and elsewhere, our producers will be, by and large, exempt from the co-responsibility levy but not all of them will be exempt. The French, British and German producers are very concerned that this exemption applies to small producers only and to that extent we achieved a major success. The stabilising proposal in respect of cereal substitutes was intended to effect a reduction of the support prices but I am quite satisfied that we have achieved the best possible outcome. One other matter which is of vital importance is that what we argued for at Council of Ministers level and at the General Council of Foreign Ministers, where I also attended for a time, has now been put into the minutes of the European Council, namely, that the European Council has called on the Commission to press for an appropriate solution to the problems arising in connection with the imports of cereal substitutes into the Community. That is a major breakthrough and I hope we get the balance right across the board.
I am afraid the Minister has thrown in the towel.
I am quite happy to raise these matters and I think the record will show that I have raised them.
I am anxious that the Minister raise them at the next Council of Ministers.
I will do that but I do not want to mislead the Deputy into thinking that because I raised it——
Do not throw in the towel before you start.
I will not and I have not done so on any issue yet.