Vol. 524 No. 6
90 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will allocate milk quota to the members of the milk rights group who claim that they have been unfairly excluded from milk production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22946/00]
Following judgments in the Supreme Court in 1997 in favour of a number of plaintiffs who were producers following development plans in the 1980s, this matter was referred to the High Court for assessment of damages. The High Court has already dealt with a number of those cases. The proceedings in the High Court concern some 110 plaintiffs involved in the original case, known as the Duff case, and in associated cases.
No special provision has been made in respect of any persons or group of persons who are not party to the proceedings in the Duff case and other associated cases. I have received legal advice to the effect that any proceedings that may be initiated by such persons are barred by the passage of time. I have not as yet made any decision on the allocation of the second tranche of additional milk quota for this country negotiated by me as part of the Agenda 2000 agreement. Before taking a decision on this, I will, as is normal, consult with the relevant social partners and the widely representative milk quota review group.
In addition to consulting with the social partners will the Minister consult with his colleagues in this House? Is he aware that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine has unanimously recommended that measures similar to those taken by the courts in relation to cases that came before them should be applied to people whose cases did not come before the courts? Is he aware the committee recommended that the same treatment be applied to them? To plead that these cases are statute barred is to continue a blatant injustice.
As the Deputy knows this matter has been going on since the early 1980s. I would be more convinced of the seriousness of the Deputy's concern if he had done something about it when he was in Government over that period.
The Government is long enough in power.
I accept the advice I have received from the Attorney General on this matter. The position is that the Department met this group on at least four occasions over the past few months. The additional milk quota will be due for allocation in the next few months and, following consultations with the relevant social partners and the milk review group, the application by this group will be taken into account together with that of other groups seeking additional quotas.
Does the Minister not agree that this group is in a different position from other groups in that its grievance has been in existence since the early 1980s? Will he forego the use of the now rather threadbare O'Rourke defence, as it might be called, of "This happened when you were there and you did not do anything about it"? His colleague the Minister, Deputy O'Rourke, is inclined to use that defence all the time. Does he agree that, unfortunately, over the period since 1983 we have had Fianna Fáil Ministers for Agriculture more often that Fine Gael Ministers? I say that as a matter of regret. If the Minister feels I am to be criticised on that basis, would he not agree there must have been large scale lack of sympathy on the part of Fianna Fáil Ministers, including his genial self, who did nothing during that period?
There have been many Ministers in that period, including Deputy Dukes and myself.
We can rewrite the history books but history books will not produce one gallon of milk on a farm. The Minister is in a position to do something about the matter and he should do it.
We also have courts which have adjudicated on cases brought before them. The people in question did not use the courts in the time available to them. A quota will be coming up soon and this group will be considered for that allocation.
What hope will they have?
They will have the same hope as the other groups. Like the younger farm groups in Deputy Connaughton's constituency, the Macra na Feirme delegations which have come to me to seek additional milk quota and a range of other groups such as the exceptional cases mentioned by Deputy Dukes. There are more farmers seeking milk quotas than there is quota available for them. This group will be considered with the other groups who are seeking additional milk quota.
I invite the Minister to come to the committee to discuss this issue with us. Does the Minister not agree that the people about whom we speak, because of the long-standing nature of their claim, are entitled to more than consideration with the other groups? Is it not disingenuous of the Minister to lump this group – a group where the injustice was deliberately created by this year's milk restructuring scheme – with everyone else and say they must be treated on the same basis? Will the Minister at least agree that the group concerned in this question should be given a degree of priority in the allocation of available quota?
My information from the milk section of the Department which met members of this group on four occasions over the past few months is that their priority now is to be considered for an allocation of this milk quota. Until now they were not considered for an allocation. They will be considered on this occasion.
As a priority.
