As part of the Agenda 2000 agreement, I secured an additional 32 million gallons of milk quota for Ireland. In determining criteria for the allocation of this quota, my main objective was to ensure that the quota was granted to small and medium sized producers as well as younger dairy farmers. In order to ensure that the additional quota allocations were fully utilised to the maximum effect, it was also a requirement for eligibility that producers had shown their commitment to milk production by utilising their existing quota and by acquiring additional quota. Of the 32 million gallons, an initial amount of 20.5 million gallons was available for allocation with effect from April 2000. From this, 15 million gallons was allocated to over 21,000 small and medium sized producers. A further 5 million gallons was made available to younger small scale dairy farmers. In excess of 3,100 such farmers benefited.
Of the 11.5 million gallons granted with effect from April 2001, I introduced a scheme for an additional allocation to the younger dairy farmers who had benefited from the 5 million gallon scheme and to certain other younger farmers who had commenced milk production at a later date. Approximately 3,500 younger dairy farmers benefited from this allocation. In view of the number of producers who were encountering quota difficulties because of the animal movement restrictions arising from the foot and mouth disease crisis, I decided to make the remaining 7.1 million gallons available on a temporary basis during the current quota year to alleviate the difficulty of such producers. This remaining 7.1 million gallons will be allocated on a permanent basis, with effect from April 2002, while the recipients or their successors remain in milk production. In allocating this quota I decided to make specific provision for milk producers whose initial quota allocations were low as a result of certain circumstances. In that regard, I decided that producers who had been following dairying development plans under the farm modernisation scheme and reduced interest subsidy scheme for farmers in financial difficulty and producers whose milk deliveries during 1983, the quota base year, were adversely affected by an outbreak of animal disease in their herd in the period 1978 to 1980, inclusive, would benefit under this scheme. In setting down the criteria for eligibility in the allocation of this 7.1 million gallons, I adhered to the objective of providing additional quota to active producers in the small and medium sized category who had demonstrated their commitment to milk production. These are the broad criteria which I have used in allocating all of the additional quota available to Ireland under Agenda 2000.
