Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 March 2013
130. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if, in view of the milking cycle of farming, he has asked the EU to agree to abolish dairy quotas from 1 January 2013 rather than 1 April 2015, thus avoiding super levy charges for the year to April 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14652/13]
View answerUnder the EU milk quota regime the quota year has always been from April to March, and there were no formal proposals, either at national or EU level, to bring the milk quota year in line with the calendar year. Indeed, it was generally considered that the current quota year has advantages over a system based on the calendar year.
In 2008 the CAP ‘Health Check’ review agreed to the abolition of milk quotas at the end of the 2014/2015 quota year, and provided for a smooth transition by increasing quota for all Member States in the remaining years. I have been extremely active in seeking to secure a softer landing for all Member States in the lead-up to milk quota abolition in 2015, but the Commission has resisted attempts to reconsider this issue, as it has resisted attempts to revisit the outcome of the 2008 CAP Health Check in an overall sense. The Commission’s view is supported by a number of Member States, some of whom are firmly against any further adjustment to the Health Check agreement. The second and final interim report on the soft landing was prepared by the Commission last December, and it proposed no further changes to the quota regime.
As only a minority of Member States is likely to be adversely affected by the current quota restrictions, it would not be possible to secure a qualified majority to agree to an adjustment of the current regime.
