Vol. 495 No. 2
117 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will clarify the situation regarding the provision of cold storage for light lambs as recently reported in the media; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19718/98]
Under the scheme of aid for private storage which was recently introduced by the EU Commission, 450 tonnes of lamb may be placed in private cold storage in Ireland at a rate of aid of 1400 ecu per tonne, equivalent to about 50p per lb. At the same time similar schemes were introduced for the United Kingdom and Finland for 2,000 tonnes and 150 tonnes respectively.
Lambs under one year old may be put into storage in carcass or half carcass form in the period between 19 October and 20 November for a period of three to seven months. An additional amount of aid of 1.45 ecu per tonne per day is payable for product held in storage beyond three months.
The scheme which runs from 19 October to 20 November could be worth over £500,000 to Ireland and, if fully availed of, would remove 23,000 lambs from the market. I have called upon sheep processing plants to maximise the use of the scheme to give a boost to the autumn lamb market.
