asked the Minister for Agriculture the number of new entrants to milk production who have applied for milk quotas; and the reason for the delay in allocating milk quotas to individual creameries for the current milk quota year.

Approximately 1,800 eligible new entrants applied for additional quotas out of the special reserve I set up some months ago.

The Department were unable to allocate these quotas until the necessary returns were received from all purchasers. The final returns, which included two of the major co-operatives, were only received in the past week. These are now being processed and all purchasers will be notified of their allocations over the next few days.

Has the Minister checked out the bona fides of the 1,800 new entrants? It is quite late to be setting out quotas with three-quarters of the quota here gone. Will the Minister give an assurance that individual creameries will get their quotas straight away to allow them advise individual suppliers?

I share the Deputy's concern that people have been left waiting so long due to some creameries being very slow in making returns. Two major co-operatives only came in with returns as late as last week despite repeated requests to come in earlier. The Strand Dairies in Clonakilty were in on 12 August and if more people followed that example we would be in a position to allocate the extra milk by now. In reply to the initial part of the question, there were 2,150 applicants under the heading "New Entrants". Obviously 350 of those were disqualified and there are 1,800 regarded as being eligible.

I would ask Deputies to keep their questions short.

Will the Minister ensure that people who have problems with disease in their herds will be considered for increases in their quotas as some of these people are having problems with their co-operatives?

The cessation scheme which we introduced about one year ago was primarily drawn up to cater for people with disease problems. The milk we are talking about now is primarily directed towards new entrants and I would not like to confuse the two. People with disease problems would get a certain order of priority as flexi-milk becomes available, although the cessation scheme was primarily directed at them.

(Limerick West): Is there a special allocation for young farmers as distinct from new entrants?

Only if the young farmers happen to be new entrants. Deputy Byrne has a question down in relation to new entrants which I presume means entrants after 20 May 1984. I do not want to pre-empt that answer, but the news is not good.

Would the Minister consider giving a quota to the farmers who participated in a non-marketing of the milk scheme? They did so in the belief that when the time expired they could go back into milk production.

I cannot hold out much hope for those people. My clinics are crowded with people with super-levy problems of one kind or another including that, but there is a list of priorities and the first few groups on the list will obviously absorb whatever milk there is through the cessation scheme or through flexi-milk. People as far down the list of priorities as those mentioned by the Deputy do not stand much of a chance as things stand.

In view of the fact that there are proposals in the EC Commission for a voluntary cessation scheme, has the Minister any proposals to bring about a scheme here whereby we could make available extra quotas to young new entrants into the dairy industry?

That is one of the priority questions on the Order Paper.

I cannot ask anything on that.

It would be unfair to the people who put down the question to answer it now.