Countries from the EU will meet in Brussels on Thursday to thrash out details of the €500m aid package.

The package, announced last month, is made of €150m in incentives for the voluntary reduction in milk supply and €350m in support for all livestock sectors. It is up to each member state to decide how it will use its allocation. Ireland has been given €11.1m, and it is anticipated that the Irish Government will add to that.

Thursday’s meeting has been described as being a technical exercise with no ministers from the EU states attending. Instead, officials, including Ireland’s Kevin Gilligan, will meet to discuss a range of delegated acts and they will hope to seek agreement.

EU officials want to have all aspects of the package agreed for a launch in mid-September.

After Thursday’s meeting, the focus will turn to the individual countries and if they will use domestic funds to match the EU money.

Speaking at the Virginia Show on Wednesday, European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan said Ireland would add Exchequer funds to the €11.1m from Europe but it is understood that no decision has been made by the Department.

What also remains to be seen is how Ireland and other EU states will spend their share of the €350m. It has previously been reported that Ireland was favouring low interest rate loans for all farmers, similar to the Glanbia MilkFlex and Dairygold loan options.

Huge interest

There has been a huge interest from member states in the €150m voluntary supply control package, Hogan told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“There has been a huge interest in this particular scheme. We are trying to bring about balance between demand and supply in the milk market,” he said.

With global supply reducing and prices increasing, it remains to be seen what the uptake for the voluntary reduction scheme will be.

Anthony Jordan contributed reporting for this story