asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry, who had to sell his herd due to financial pressure, can now qualify for a milk quota under the latest scheme.
Written Answers. - Qualification for Milk Quota.
44.
Under the Community regulations milk quotas are based on deliveries made in 1983. As the person referred to did not deliver milk during 1983 he does not, therefore, have any entitlement to a milk quota. However, within the limited degree of flexibility available to me under the Community regulations, I have tried to assist farmers in this situation. I have provided that the first priority category of farmers for the allocation of quotas in the arrangements for both the restructuring scheme, which I negotiated as part of last year's price package, and the distribution of fleximilk, are producers with no quotas or whose quotas do not exceed 25,000 gallons. Furthermore, under the clawback scheme that I set up at the end of last year, I have provided that among the categories to benefit from the reserve are young farmers with no quotas who satisfy certain educational and training qualifications.