asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware that the farmers in the southern end of County Roscommon cannot find any market for their oats; that this crop was their principal and in many cases their only means of raising the necessary cash to meet the rate demands, and if he will state what steps he proposes to take to ensure that tillage farmers of this class will be enabled to meet their demands before seizures of stock or property are made by rate collectors.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Disposal of Oats in Roscommon.
I am aware of the present difficulty of disposing of the oat crop profitably, and with a view to assisting in the matter I am taking steps to secure an increased consumption of oats in the Saorstát. Already I have made an order increasing from 25 per cent. to 33? per cent. the proportion of homegrown oats in the maize meal mixture required under the Agricultural Produce (Cereals) Act, and I have other measures of a similar nature under consideration.