Vol. 519 No. 6
115 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if a meeting took place with the Milk Rights Group regarding compensation for development plan farmers in the farm modernisation scheme, who were advised to develop their dairy farms and who were then badly affected by introduction of the quota systems which prevented completion of their development plans; and if so, if he will give a report on the outcome of this meeting. [14637/00]
A number of meetings were held with this group in recent months. The most recent meeting was on 27 April between the group and officials of my Department. The meeting was at the request of the group and was on a without prejudice basis. At this meeting the group's representatives confirmed that their objective was to secure extra milk quota for their members and suggested that this might be met out of the second tranche (11.5 million gallons) of the 32 million gallons of additional quota which I secured for this country as an outcome of the agenda 2000 negotiations. The group also provided some statistical information in relation to the total quota requirements of their members. My Department's officials took note of the group's representations.
