376,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder in intervention

THERE are now approximately 376,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder in public intervention stocks, effectively overhanging the EU skimmed milk powder market, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed told the Dáil.

Speaking during Question Time, he said his Department and he had engaged at Council of Ministers meetings and directly with the Commission on recent measures to limit further stockpiling of skimmed milk powder in 2018 without due justification, including the Commission’s proposal to reduce the fixed-price ceiling to zero. “I strongly argued that this measure should be specified as for 2018 only to avoid setting a precedent for the longer term,” he said.

He said the issue of current stocks cannot be disentangled from the issue of managing skimmed milk powder intervention in 2018 and beyond, however. “The issues involved, with respect to both market management and sentiment in the sector, are complex and require ongoing careful management,” he added.

Oireachtas Report

such trade, which is in many ways a dying trade, to the attention of the Minister, that of cooper.

“Coopers were a major part of this city and country’s heritage over many decades. They made barrels for the distilling and brewing industries and it is a recognised worldwide trade. Whether one is in Scotland, Canada or other countries, coopers are considered to be skilled artists if not trades people. We should consider having an apprenticeship programme for coopers so we can ensure the trade can be kept alive in Ireland.”

In response, Minister of State John Halligan said cooperage was one apprenticeship that had not come on the Department’s radar.

“An assessment of it needs to be done, with which we can help the Senator, to ascertain if there are people interested in cooperage, and I suspect there will be, as it is a great trade,” he said. “I can appreciate the value of it in promoting tourism and bringing tourists to see a cooper in action,” he said.