To ask the Minister for Industry and Commerce if it is correct to state that the price given for barley, oats and wheat during the year 1922-23 was reduced to such an extent as to seriously endanger the future of the agricultural industry, without giving any corresponding reduction or advantage to the consumer of the product of such commodities; if it is also correct to state that there has been a considerable decrease in the selling price of eggs, butter and milk without any corresponding reduction in the price paid by the consumer, whether it would not be correct to attribute the many strikes and industrial disputes to such causes, whether the evidence already given at the Food Prices Commission would warrant him in calling for an interim report from that body in order that the Government might be in a position to recommend immediate and drastic measures for dealing with the unarmed robbers and profiteers who are endeavouring to "get rich quick" under cover of the existing abnormal conditions.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. [ ORAL ANSWERS. ] - WHOLESALE AND RETAIL FOOD PRICES DISPARITY.
I will answer the question on behalf of the Minister for Industry and Commerce. The representations made in the question on matters of fact are precisely those into which the Commission on Prices was appointed to inquire, and as the Commission has so far only heard evidence from Dublin and the investigations of the local Committees which have been appointed are only beginning, I would not feel justified in calling for an interim report from the Commission as yet. The Commission is, however, aware of the need for arriving at conclusions as early as possible.