Milk quotas - Crime to cut production

Hundreds of young milk producers could be forced out of dairy farming due to mounting super-levy fines that could cost the country tens of millions of euro.

Irish milk farmers have already exceeded the EU milk quota by 6%-8%, with six months still to go before the end of the 2011-2012 quota year.

At the end of last March, Ireland managed to keep milk output to just under the allowed quota by a mere 0.4%.