Vol. 518 No. 3
120 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the reason a person (details supplied) in County Cork has not been allocated additional milk quota under the various schemes to administer the additional quota secured under the CAP reforms; and if he will make an allocation to the applicant under the 500,000 gallon category. [11459/00]
The eligibility criteria for the allocation to producers of the additional 20.5 million gallons of milk quota negotiated under Agenda 2000 were set out in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 42 of 9 December 1999. Some 15 million gallons will be allocated to active milk producers with quotas of less than 55,000 gallons who have demonstrated a commitment to dairying by filling their existing quota and acquiring additional quota. A further five million gallons will be allocated to younger dairy farmers with quotas of less than 35,000 gallons who have shown similar commitment. It was necessary to set strict eligibility criteria for the allocation of the extra quota in order to maximise its effect.
On the basis of the information available to my Department the person named does not meet all of the eligibility criteria for these schemes and, therefore, is not entitled to an allocation.
I will, however, announce details in due course for the allocation of the remaining 500,000 gallons that has been set aside for special cases arising out of the operation of the general distribution and if the person named qualifies under that scheme she may apply at that stage.
