Ulick Burke
Question:172 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the campaign being carried out by his Department of investigating husbands and wives who are farming in their own right and who have one herd number withdrawn and are being forced to amalgamate farming activities; if officials of his Department require exhaustive lists of, in many cases, confidential documents to prove separate farming; if this is an invasion of privacy; if his attention has been drawn to the State's equality policy and the relevant legislation; if he has satisfied himself that his staff are complying with this legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9575/98]