Milk (Regulation of Supply) Act , 1994

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

“the Agency” means the National Milk Agency established under section 2;

“Board” means a Milk Board established under section 6 (1) of the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) Act, 1936;

“the Council Directive” means Council Directive 92/46/EEC of 16 June 1992 laying down health rules for the production and placing on the market of raw milk, heat-treated milk and milk-based products[^(1)] as modified by Council Directive 92/47/EEC of 16 June 1992[^(2)];

“dissolved Board” means a Board which is dissolved or to be dissolved by virtue of section 3 (1);

“establishment date” means the date appointed under section 2 for the establishment of the Agency;

“inspector” means a person authorised in writing by the Agency to exercise the functions conferred on an inspector under this Act;

“milk” means raw milk or heat-treated milk;

“raw milk” means whole cow's milk which has not been heated beyond 40C or undergone any treatment that has an equivalent effect;

“heat-treated milk” means cow's milk whether whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed which has been subjected to heat treatment and presented in the forms defined in Annex C, Chapter 1A 4 (a), (b), (c) or (d) of the Council Directive, including milk to which has been added flavouring, vitamins, minerals or other food ingredients, provided that these ingredients are not used to replace in part or in whole any milk constituent;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry;

“prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister by regulations under this Act;

“processor” means a person who is the owner or occupier of a heat treatment establishment;

“producer” means a person who is the owner or occupier of a holding where one or more milk yielding cows are kept;

“register” means a register maintained under this Act and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(2) In this Act, unless otherwise stated, a reference to a section or Schedule is to a section or Schedule of this Act and a reference to a subsection or paragraph is to a subsection or a paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs.

(3) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by or under any other enactment.

2 National Milk Agency.

2.—(1) There shall be a body to be known as the National Milk Agency to regulate the supply of milk for liquid consumption in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(2) The Agency shall comprise a chairman and members appointed or elected as representing the interests of producers, processors, distributors, retailers and consumers of milk.

(3) The Agency shall stand established on such day as the Minister by order appoints.

(4) The Agency shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and power to sue and be sued and to acquire, hold and dispose of land.

(5) The provisions of the Schedule shall apply to the Agency.

3 Dissolution of Dublin and Cork District Milk Boards.

3.—(1) The Minister shall, by orders made under section 6 (3) of the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) Act, 1936, revoke the orders made under section 6 (1) of that Act, namely, the Dublin District Milk Board Order, 1936 and the Cork District Milk Board Order, 1937, (in this Act referred to as “the dissolved Boards”), as amended by any subsequent orders.

(2) The orders made in pursuance of subsection (1) shall be expressed to have and shall have effect on the date of establishment of the Agency.

(3) The provisions of section 7 of the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) Act, 1936 and section 4 of the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) (Amendment) Act, 1941 (being provisions consequential on the revocation of orders made under section 6 (1) of the said Act of 1936) shall continue to have effect subject to subsection (7) for the purposes of such revocation notwithstanding the repeal of those Acts by this Act.

(4) (a) An order of the Minister under section 6 (3) of the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) Act, 1936, may provide, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 4 of the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) (Amendment) Act, 1941, that the assets, liabilities, choses in action, contracts and commitments (expressed or implied) of the dissolved Boards shall stand transferred to the Minister or to an Interim Board subject to the provisions of this subsection.

(b) An order transferring assets and liabilities to the Minister may include provisions authorising him to enter into contracts, to be completed on the date of dissolution of the dissolved Boards, for the sale as a going concern of all or any business carried on by either such Board with such assets and liabilities as may be provided for by any such contract.

(c) At any time after the making of an order to which subsection (1) applies but before the dissolution of the Board to which it refers, the Minister may by order transfer the assets, liabilities, choses in action, contracts and commitments (expressed or implied) of that Board to the Interim Board.

(5) The Interim Board shall comprise three persons nominated by the Minister from time to time as occasion requires. It shall be a body corporate with power to sue and be sued and to hold land. It shall stand dissolved on such day as the Minister by order appoints.

(6) The Interim Board may, to such extent as an order under subsection (4) may provide, carry on any business activities carried on by a dissolved Board, discharge any and all liabilities of a dissolved Board, and sell as a going concern all and any business of that Board with such assets or liabilities or both as may be provided for in the sale.

(7) All moneys received by the Minister or the Interim Board in pursuance of this section shall, after payment of necessary outgoings, be paid to the Minister for Finance and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

(8) Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895 shall not apply to the vesting in the Interim Board of any property or right transferred under this Act.

4 Superannuation for Boards' staff.

4.—(1) On the dissolution of a Board by virtue of an order under section 3 (1), a superannuation scheme made by that Board under the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) (Amendment) Act, 1961, referred to in this section as a “Board scheme”, shall be administered by the Minister.

(2) The Minister may, subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance, from time to time by a scheme (“an amending scheme”) made by him in accordance with this section amend a Board scheme for the purpose of granting superannuation benefits to or in respect of persons who were employed by a Board at any time prior to its dissolution and may make payments accordingly.

(3) An amending scheme may, in particular, provide that—

(a) where a member of the staff of a dissolved Board, whether or not a member of the Board scheme at the date of the dissolution of the Board, wishes to cease employment with the Board immediately before such dissolution and so informs the Minister before that date, and

(b) the Minister considers that such cesser of employment would facilitate the sale or transfer of any part of the business carried on by the Board,

the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make such payments to or in respect of the person concerned in compensation for such cesser of employment as the Minister considers appropriate.

(4) The manner in which the payments referred to in subsection (3) are calculated shall be specified in the relevant amending scheme.

(5) In the case of a person who was a member of a Board scheme, payments made pursuant to subsection (3) shall be in substitution for any benefits which would otherwise be payable to or in respect of the person under the Board scheme.

(6) Every scheme made pursuant to subsection (2) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be thereafter and if either House, within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling the scheme, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(7) Section 2 (1) (a) of the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) (Amendment) Act, 1961, is hereby amended by the substitution for “for its chairman” of “to or in respect of its chairman” and the substitution for “for such classes of its permanent staff” of “to or in respect of persons being members of such classes of its permanent staff”.

(8) All assets held on behalf of a scheme under the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) (Amendment) Act, 1961, shall, on the dissolution of the Board to which it relates, stand transferred to and vested in the Minister without any conveyance or assignment and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

(9) All payments made by the Minister by virtue of this section shall be made out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

5 Regulation of Milk Supply Sale and purchase of milk.

5.—(1) Heat-treated milk shall not be sold or supplied for liquid consumption in the State unless it is prepared from raw milk which—

(a) has been purchased—

(i) from a producer under a contract registered under this Act (“a registered contract”), or

(ii) from a registered processor who purchased it from a producer under a registered contract, or

(b) has been produced on a milk production holding and has been heat-treated by the producer, the producer being also a registered processor,

unless the sale is exempt under subsection (2).

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to—

(a) milk which has been obtained by a processor under an exemption licence granted by the Minister,

(b) milk the sale of which in a form other than heat-treated milk is authorised by the Minister,

(c) milk pasteurised in a domestic pasteurising appliance for home consumption,

(d) milk legally imported into the State.

(3) A registered processor shall be entitled to sell heat-treated milk for liquid consumption in any part of the State provided the requirements of the Council Directive and this Act are complied with.

(4) A person who sells, supplies or purchases milk or offers or exposes milk for sale in contravention of any provision of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(5) A person who continues to contravene any provision of this section after conviction of the original contravention shall be guilty of contravening the provision on every day on which the contravention so continues and for each such offence shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200 in respect of each day of such contravention.

(6) This section shall come into operation on a date laid down by order of the Minister after the establishment of the Agency.

6 Registration of contracts.

6.—(1) The Agency shall, on the application of either party, register a contract for the supply of raw milk for heat treatment for liquid consumption made between a producer and a processor provided the requirements of this section are complied with.

(2) The contract shall be a contract for an unbroken period of 12 months or more which—

(a) specifies that the milk supplied by the producer will at all times be at least of the quality specified by law as being suitable for raw milk intended for processing into heat-treated milk for liquid consumption;

(b) provides for supply all the year round by the producer of raw milk with a specified minimum percentage of the producer's production being supplied during a prescribed period (the “winter months”) or for supply during the winter months only;

(c) in the opinion of the Agency, provides adequate compensation to the producer for raw milk supplied under the contract throughout the year, taking into account, in particular, in relation to the winter months, the economic cost of production of raw milk of suitable quality for heat treatment for liquid consumption all the year round;

(d) in respect of every year of its existence after the first year, is supplemented by an agreement between the parties submitted to the Agency not later than the end of June in that year which, in the opinion of the Agency, provides sufficient guarantee that adequate compensation will be made to the producer for raw milk supplied under the contract during the following winter months taking into account, in particular, in relation to the winter months, the economic cost of production of raw milk of suitable quality for heat treatment for liquid consumption all the year round.

(3) The producer shall satisfy the Agency that the milk production holding meets the requirements in relation to milk production holdings in the Council Directive.

(4) The processor shall satisfy the Agency that the heat treatment establishment is approved under the Council Directive or is the subject of a derogation under that Council Directive and shall undertake to purchase raw milk to be heat-treated and sold as milk for liquid consumption only in accordance with a registered contract unless such sale is exempt under section 5.

7 Registers.

7.—(1) The Agency shall maintain—

(a) a register of contracts,

(b) a register of producers in which shall be entered particulars of every producer who is a party to a registered contract, and

(c) a register of processors in which shall be entered particulars of—

(i) every processor who is a party to a registered contract, and

(ii) every processor who processes milk produced on the processor's own milk production holding and, on application to the Agency for registration, satisfies the Agency that the holding and the heat treatment establishment meet the requirements of the Council Directive.

(2) Every application for registration in a register shall be made in the prescribed form and contain the prescribed particulars.

8 Levies payable by processors.

8.—(1) In this section “accounting period” means the month commencing on the date of establishment of the Agency or any subsequent month.

(2) Every processor who is, during the whole or any part of an accounting period, registered under this Act shall, within a prescribed time after the end of that period—

(a) make in the prescribed form the following return to the Agency—

(i) the quantity of milk which, during the accounting period, was either acquired from any registered producer or any other registered processor or produced on the processor's own milk production holding, and

(ii) the total quantity of milk acquired for the production of milk for liquid consumption, and

(iii) the quantity of heat-treated milk which, during the accounting period, was sold by the processor for liquid consumption, and

(b) pay to the Agency a levy in respect of the accounting period calculated at a rate determined under subsection (3) for each litre of milk either acquired from any registered producer in accordance with the terms of a contract registered with the Agency or produced on the processor's own milk production holding.

(3) (a) The rate of levy shall, subject to paragraph (b), be such rate and be paid within such time as is specified by the Minister by order made on the establishment of the Agency.

(b) The Agency may, with the consent of the Minister, alter the rate of levy on giving two months' notice in writing specifying the altered rate and the date on and from which it is to take effect to each registered producer and registered processor of the Agency's decision.

(4) In the event of non-payment of the levy due by any person for an accounting period within the specified time the Agency shall issue a certificate (a “certificate of indebtedness”) under the seal of the Agency certifying the amount of the levy payable by that person for that period.

(5) Every certificate of indebtedness shall be evidence of all matters purporting to be certified therein, and any document purporting to be a certificate of indebtedness shall, on production in any proceedings to recover the amount thereby certified to be payable, be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to be a certificate of indebtedness duly made under this section and shall be admitted in evidence accordingly.

(6) The Agency shall cause a certificate of indebtedness to be served on the person to whom the certificate relates, and thereupon the amount of the levy stated in the certificate shall be recoverable by the Agency from that person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(7) If any person registered in any register kept by the Agency—

(a) fails to make to the Agency any return required by this section, or

(b) makes any such return which is false or misleading in any material respect, or

(c) fails to pay within the time appointed by this section any amount payable to the Agency under this section,

the Agency may cancel the registration of that person in the register of producers or processors as the case may be and the registration of any and all contracts to which that person is a party.

(8) Whenever the registration of any person has been cancelled on account of non-payment of any amount payable by that person to the Agency under this section, the Agency shall, if the amount is paid by or on behalf of that person within three months after the date of cancellation, restore the registration with effect from the date of payment.

(9) Service of a copy of a certificate made under this section may be made by delivering it to the person to whom it relates or by sending it by post to that person at any place where that person resides or carries on business.

(10) Every person who—

(a) fails to make within the time limited by this section any return required by this section, or

(b) who makes any such return which is false or misleading in any material respect,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

9 Returns by registered persons.

9.—(1) The Minister may prescribe the returns to be made by persons registered in any register.

(2) Every person who fails or refuses to make any return in accordance with the regulations or who makes in any such return any statement which is false or misleading in any material respect, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction, in the case of a first offence to a fine not exceeding £250 and, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding £500.

10 Records to be kept by registered persons.