Vol. 566 No. 1
196 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans the Government has to implement recommendations of the national strategy development plan; and the effect it will have on milk quota in the west of Ireland. [11731/03]
A strategic review of the dairy processing sector was commissioned and jointly funded by my Department, Enterprise Ireland and the dairy industry itself. This major consultancy study was undertaken by Prospectus and Promar International. The report was published on 19 March and has been broadly welcomed by the industry.
A key recommendation of the report is the urgent need for major consolidation and rationalisation at producer and processor level to achieve the scale and cost competitiveness necessary to continue to successfully compete for international business. The need to increase scale and efficiency is not a new issue within the dairy industry and a number of reports previously published have indicated the need for consolidation. There has been considerable movement in this direction in competitor countries in recent years and the Irish dairy industry must respond to ensure that it remains competitive on international markets. I am currently discussing the recommendations of the report with the processing industry.
While the report did not focus on production at farm level, it is the case that there will be an increasing need for upsizing at this level also, as has been happening throughout the country including the west, where the policy of ring fencing has applied. I will continue to assist committed active producers to expand and develop their enterprises to an optimal level.
197 Mr. N. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a milk quota will be granted to a person (details supplied) in County Cork in partnership. [11733/03]
The milk quota restructuring scheme is now the main means by which milk quota is acquired by producers. New and recent entrants to dairying are among the priority categories for the allocation of quota. Details of the 2003-04 restructuring scheme were published in April.
I decided that from the 2003-04 quota year a young person who forms a partnership with his/her parent, and where that partnership is registered as a new entrant/parent milk production partnership, he/she may, provided certain conditions are satisfied, qualify for an allocation as a new entrant farming partnership. This would allow the young person to commence milk production using the facilities at the home farm. This will provide opportunities for young committed producers who possess the training and expertise to make a positive contribution to the sector.
If the person named is interested in applying to purchase quota under this scheme he should contact his co-op/milk purchaser directly.
