asked the Minister for Agriculture what steps are being taken to safeguard the interests of potato growers in the scheduled area of North Louth, who are prohibited from disposing of their crop of potatoes; whether it is a fact that a quantity of seed was supplied by the Department of Agriculture at £13-£15 per ton, and sold as immune from disease, and whether he is prepared to accept responsibility for the losses incurred by farmers in respect of potatoes grown from this seed?
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. - NORTH LOUTH POTATO CROP.
Special inquiries have been made into the position in the County Louth scheduled area and as to the possibility of finding an outlet for the potatoes grown therein or of otherwise relieving the situation. The normal outlet is the Liverpool and Bristol Channel markets, but unfortunately these markets are this year over supplied, owing to the very exceptional yield of the potato crop not only in Ireland but in Great Britain. The only prohibition against the disposal of potatoes grown in the scheduled district is that they cannot be sent to disease-free districts in Ireland where they would be likely to introduce Black Scab, one of the most destructive diseases of the potato crop.
With a view to introducing into scheduled districts costly new varieties immune from Black Scab, the Department have from time to time supplied small quantities of such varieties free of charge to a few growers under contract to sell the produce to their neighbours at a little over the cost of ordinary eating potatoes. This is a similar case to the case we discussed on the adjournment a few nights ago.