This measure is fully funded by the European Union without any national Exchequer contribution. Ireland is the only member state operating the scheme. Since 1988, EU legislation requires the Commission to review the scheme every two years. On foot of the recent review, the European Commission, in its report to the Council, proposed that the scheme should be extended for a further two years at an unchanged aid level. The Commission also recommended that the monthly entitlement be halved to reflect the general decline in per capita butter consumption in Ireland which has fallen from 2lbs per month to under 1lb. The Agriculture Council agreed in December to continue the scheme for a further two years on the basis of the Commission proposal.
I am very conscious of the importance of the scheme to pensioners and the less well off. With this in mind, Ireland succeeded in having the scheme extended on the most viable basis possible. The reduced entitlement to butter under the scheme reflects the significant fall in national butter consumption and, as a result, had to remain part of the overall decision to continue the scheme.
