91 applicants allocated 15.1m litres of milk quota under final scheme
Of this total, unveiled yesterday by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, 55 “brand new” entrants, who had not previously held quota, will each receive allocations of 200,000 litres, totalling 11m litres.
The remaining 36 successful applicants, who had previously purchased quota as either new entrants or as successors under the Milk Quota Trading Scheme, will receive allocations totalling a further 4.1m litres.
Mr Coveney said: “The New Entrants to Dairying Scheme has, over the last five years, facilitated the entry of the best and the brightest into the dairy industry. The entry, in that period, of over 400 enthusiastic and motivated farmers to the dairy sector is acting as a significant primer for the industry as it embarks on the road to reach the ambitious target it set for itself in the Food Harvest 2020 Report of increasing milk production by 50% by 2020.”
The minister noted that 175 applications under three categories (137 brand new entrants, 35 trading scheme and three successor applicants) were received by the Jun 7 closing date.
