Ned O'Keeffe
Question:250 Mr. N. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will consider granting an additional milk quota under the partnership scheme to a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [15613/03]
Written Answers. - Milk Quota.
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 registered partnership with a parent may, provided certain conditions are satisfied, qualify for an allocation of quota as a new entrant farming in partnership. However, this provision applies only in the case of a person who does not hold, or has not previously held, a quota in his or her name. I understand that the person named was already a quota holder prior to the commencement of the 2003-04 quota year.
An existing quota holder, who is under the age of 35 years on 31 March, may apply to purchase quota under the recent entrant category. The total owned quota of such a recent entrant, following the allocation of additional quota from this priority category, must not exceed 200,000 litres.