Many farmers in dire straits due to quota shortfall
by Tom Carron Updated: Wednesday, 21st September, 2011 5:30pm
"The European Union is well under quota and it is unfair that there are super levies imposed on Ireland when there is quota available in other member states", insisted Councillor Pauline McCauley at Cavan County Council. The Sinn Fein representative was proposing a motion calling for action to relieve many farmers in Cavan and across the state who are in financial difficulty because they have already used up all of their milk quota and don't have any income.
Acknowledging that milk quotas were being abolished in 2015, Cllr McCauley said that farmers were encouraged by their co-operative to buy more cows and build milking parlours. However, those farmers found that there was no additional quota available for them this year and they didn't have money to live on never mind repay their loans. Stating that farmers were facing a super levy she suggested that the council write to the Minister for Agriculture urging him to push for changes in the system at EU level so that Irish farmers can obtain quota that is available in other countries of the EU.
Full story on Farming Page of this week's Anglo-Celt.
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