A judicial review sought by Greencore of the allocation of compensation for the loss of the Irish sugar industry is to begin in the High Court today.
In a separate development, however, it has emerged that the European Commission may increase its overall compensation to sugar beet growers and plant owners.
Greencore is disputing the level of compensation it was allocated from the €145 million sum put forward by the EU when its Mallow plant closed last year.
The company was to have received €98 million, growers were to get €40 million and machinery owners and contractors stood to receive €7 million from the fund.
However, it has been learned that the commission intends to discuss the issue again tomorrow in Brussels.
The introduction of the scheme to give incentives to less-competitive sugar producers to leave the sector has not worked as well as the commission expected and the reduction in production is still well below the objective of six million tonnes.
An official note seen by The Irish Times states: "Therefore, it becomes necessary to improve the attractiveness of the fund for the industry and for the growers. The mechanism will be adapted to better achieve the objective of market balance during the transition period."
It is not known what impact this latest move by the commission may have on the High Court review in Dublin or if it will lead to an adjournment of the case.