The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has said that there are no concrete proposals already defined by his department for the dairy sector.
The possibility of milk quotas was raised by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) at the latest meeting of the Food Vision Dairy Group yesterday (Monday, March 7).
It was met with an angry response from farming organisations, with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) stating that there was “no legal basis” for the models put forward by the department.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said there are “no circumstances” in which it would agree to a cap on milk volume production.
The Food Vision Dairy Group, chaired by former director of Teagasc, Prof. Gerry Boyle, is tasked with examining ways for the dairy sector to help achieve targets for agriculture and land use in the Climate Action Plan 2021.
Its first task will be to produce a detailed plan by Q2 2022.
McConalogue response
In a statement issued this afternoon, Minister McConalogue said the group has discussed a “variety of issues” including the challenge facing the sector in terms of stabilising and then reducing emissions.
“My understanding is that the meetings to date have been characterised by constructive engagement on a range of complex and difficult issues.
“These discussions necessarily involve open engagement on a variety of options for the development of the sector and the control and reduction of emissions.
“It is certainly not the case that my department has any proposals for the reintroduction of quotas or limits on dairy production,” McConalogue stated.
“There is no predetermined outcome involved and I have tasked the committee with reflecting on the challenges facing the sector and reporting to me when they have considered all options.
“While nothing is off the table, similarly, there are absolutely no concrete proposals already defined by the department,” the minister added.
McConalogue said that he trusted that the group will bringing forward “a complete and well-thought-out options paper in due course”.
“The dairy sector will continue to be a key component of our agri-food sector and overall economy. I want to ensure that the sector remains strong and robust into the future and will continue to be an avenue for farm families to generate a fair income for generations to come,” the minister concluded.