Vol. 574 No. 1
223 Mr. J. Brady asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the progress being made regarding dairy producer partnerships; the detailed conditions applying to such partnerships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26400/03]
I introduced the provision for milk production partnerships within the Irish quota system to allow for flexibility in farming practice by combining two enterprises and quotas while at the same time preserving the integrity of the quota system. Standard milk production partnerships were provided for in 2002. Since then, 17 such partnerships have been registered. Following a review of the first year of the operation of the partnerships, I introduced new regulations to provide for the registration of new entrant and parent milk production partnerships. New entrant and parent milk production partnerships can be established between a new entrant to dairying and his or her parent or parents with a milk production quota of less than 300,000 litres. These partnerships allow a qualified young farmer to start a milk production enterprise in partnership with his or her parent without having to establish separate facilities where he or she has received an allocation of milk quota as a new entrant farming in partnership under a milk quota restructuring scheme. Such partnerships provide an opportunity for trained young farmers to get established in the industry.
Since April 2003, 60 new entrant partnerships have been registered and at least 40 more are expected to be added to the register by the end of the quota year. The principal conditions which apply to partnerships are as follows. Both quota holders can participate in quota allocation schemes in their own right in the case of the standard partnerships. One partner's milk quota may be up to four times greater than the other at the formation of the partnership in the case of the standard partnerships. The partners' holdings may be up to 20 km apart. A person can only be a member of one registered partnership. Both producers must have delivered at least 70% of their respective quotas in the three milk quota years prior to entry into the partnership, though this requirement may be waived in certain circumstances. A partner may have annual off-farm income of up to €22,000 in the year preceding the registration of the partnership or during the partnership except for the new entrant where no limit applies to income in the year preceding the partnership. A producer aged 60 years old or more may not join a partnership and a person may not continue to be a partner after they are 65 years old. The partners must not have been involved in any land transfers in the two years prior to the formation of the partnership, though exemptions from this condition are available on application if satisfactory explanations are provided.
