Gerard C. Connolly
Question:165 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a 30 suckler cow quota and a sheep quota will be approved for a person (details supplied) in County Offaly.
Written Answers. - Suckler Cow Premium.
The relevant EC Regulations provide for suckler cow premium quotas to be based on the number of suckler cows on which a producer was paid suckler cow premium under the 1992 suckler cow premium scheme.
The person named meets this condition and will be granted a quota of three suckler cows based on the number of suckler cows on which he was paid premium under the 1992 suckler cow premium scheme.
The EC Regulations also provide for the establishment of both a national reserve equal to between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of the sum of the individual quotas allocated to producers and a special reserve equal to 1 per cent of the total of the individual quotas allocated to producers in the disadvantaged areas. As the applications for the suckler cow scheme were accepted up to the end of 1992 and as the retention period for the scheme is six months, it will not be possible for some time yet to indicate the total number of suckler cows which received the premium in 1992 and therefore to indicate the size of the reserves. When these reserves are established and the criteria for allocating quotas from them have been decided my Department will be inviting herd owners to submit a formal application for increase in suckler cow quota.
The person named has been granted a ewe premium quota of 280 ewes based on the number of ewes on which he was paid premium under the 1991 ewe premium scheme less a deduction for the national reserve.