asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state (a) the quantity of eggs confiscated by officers of his Department since January, 1937; (b) what was done with such confiscated eggs; (c) and, if sold, the prices realised.
Written Answers. - Confiscation of Eggs.
The reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:— (a) 579 packages containing 1,794 great hundreds of eggs were forfeited under Section 4 of the Agricultural Produce (Eggs) Act, 1934, during the period from the 1st January, 1937, to the 31st October, 1937; (b) packages of eggs found on examination to warrant forfeiture are forwarded to the Central Egg Hut, North Wall, and are kept there for at least two days to enable the owners to inspect them if they so wish. After the lapse of the time specified in the notice sent to the owners, all defective eggs are removed from the package and destroyed, the remaining eggs being repacked and graded with a view to their sale at the best price obtainable. The amounts realised for such eggs are credited to the account of the Department of Agriculture; (c) the prices obtained for eggs sold as stated vary according to the time of the year and the grade of the eggs. The total amount received for the 1,429 great hundreds of eggs sold during the present year was, approximately, £500, representing an average price of about 7/- per great hundred (120 eggs).