To ask the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what discussions she has had with the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs on Northern Ireland’s allocation of the UK’s package of measures from the European Commission to help alleviate the crisis in dairy farming.

Details of my meetings with DEFRA in relation to the dairy crisis may be found in my responses to AQW 48840/11-16, AQW 48841/11-16 and AQW 48842/11-16.

Following the EU Commission’s decision to allocate an aid package worth £26 million to this Member State, on 24 September I had a further discussion with the DEFRA Minister, George Eustice where he confirmed that the north’s share of this EU funding would be £5.1m. This is around one fifth of the funding allocated to our Member State.

The decision to allocate nearly 20% of the Member State’s aid package to the north comes after I highlighted the unique and difficult circumstances facing the industry here, with both Commissioner Hogan and Ms Truss. As a result, I have secured a better deal for our farmers than would otherwise have been the case.