Vol. 460 No. 3
527 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will consider amending legislation to allow butter voucher recipients to purchase low fat spreads and grant those with cholesterol and other medical conditions a healthier option. [19110/95]
The scheme under which butter vouchers are made available to certain categories of social welfare recipients is wholly funded by the European Union as part of the EU dairy market support regime. Any amendment to the regulations governing the scheme would, therefore, primarily be a matter for the EU Commission. I am not aware of any plans in this regard by the Commission.
It should be pointed out that the primary purpose of the scheme is to help support the EU butter market. Therefore, there would not be great support for including other products which, in fact, compete with butter. I might add that there are differing opinions, including within the medical profession, on the relative merits from an overall health point of view, of various yellow fat products.
