asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries how many different prices are at present being paid for milk; and if he will explain the reasons for these differences.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Milk Prices.
47.
Each creamery society pay the best price they can for creamery milk supplied. In addition, the Exchequer supports the milk price through the milk price allowance and quality bonus schemes. The price which a creamery can pay out of their own resources will obviously depend on their operational efficiency, the degree of diversification of their products, market outlets available, store trade, et cetera.
The Exchequer milk price allowances involve six different rates of subsidy depending on intake from individual producers. There is only one rate in respect of the quality bonus. In addition to the basic price paid by creameries for butter-fat, skim milk is sometimes purchased and this will naturally affect the total return which a producer gets for his milk.
With regard to liquid milk, there is only one producer price at a given time in the Dublin and Cork areas which are the only areas in which I have power to fix such prices. I have no information as to the prices paid to liquid milk producers outside of those areas. The retail prices of liquid milk are a matter for the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
The Minister has given a pretty long reply but he has not really answered the question. What I was trying to get from the Minister was how many different prices are being paid, as of today, to farmers for milk by different creameries?
If the Deputy is asking for a specific number of different prices I am afraid I cannot give it to him. The Deputy will appreciate that each of the hundreds of societies buying liquid milk at present may find themselves in a somewhat different financial position and they may impose charges on their suppliers that they determine themselves for matters like carriage and the service of debt and all sorts of things like that. The final price paid by any given society is a matter for themselves. What is fixed by the Department of Agriculture is the support price and quality bonus.
Does the Minister feel happy about a situation where there are about 20 different prices——
No.
——because of a whole lot of circumstances over which the Minister should have some control but appears to have neither control nor interest?
No. I have indicated on a number of occasions in recent times that this fragmentation of the dairy industry is what really is giving rise to this unsatisfactory situation to which the Deputy quite rightly refers and I have also indicated that it is the desire of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries that a rationalisation be brought about within the creamery industry itself, but since the creamery industry itself is largely farmer-owned, co-operatively owned, there are limits within which the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must operate. As I have recently intimated, changes in the legislation which will facilitate this rationalisation are being contemplated now by the Department of Industry and Commerce.
Is it not unfortunate that the creameries run by the Dairy Disposals Company seem to be by far the worst for prices in the country?
There are a number of reasons for this and one of them is, as the Deputy will recall from his knowledge of the dairy industry, that, speaking in general terms, the Dairy Disposals Company operate in areas which are less profitable than where the co-operative industry is strong. For that reason and others the profitability generally is not as good as it is in the co-operative areas.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.
Due to the unsatisfactory nature of the replies to Questions Nos. 41 and 42 on today's Order Paper, to the Minister for Education, I wish to give notice of my intention to raise the matter on the Adjournment.
The Chair will communicate with Deputy Pattison.