The minister said he is fully aware of the pressures on dairy farmers right now, and that he is committed to working with all players in the sector to address these issues, to “ensure that we have a sustainable dairy sector going forward”.

In this regard, a meeting of the dairy forum will take place this Tuesday 21 June, the minister confirmed in the Dáil on Thursday.

Intervention

In a parliamentary question, Fianna Fáil TD Charlie McConalogue asked the minister if he supports a review of the public intervention instrument and reference threshold levels for butter and skimmed milk powder, and if he had discussed this at European Union level.

The minister said Ireland has already raised the question of an increase in intervention prices at EU level, but that there is no prospect of securing the agreement of a qualified majority of member states, or the European Commission, to such an increase.

“I can assure the deputy that I will continue to engage with the Commission and with other member states to ensure that market support measures are deployed and extended as necessary,” he said.

Arrabawn and Dairygold hold May milk prices

Dairy forum to meet on Tuesday

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has called a meeting of the dairy forum for this Tuesday, to address the issues within the dairy sector with all stakeholders.