asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the number of applications for a review of tariffs under the provisions of the London Agreement of 1938 which were made to him by British and other Commonwealth manufacturers, the number of such applications (a) referred to the Prices Commission for consideration and (b) withdrawn before being referred to the Prices Commission, the number of references (a) in respect of which the Prices Commission have completed their inquiry and (b) which were subsequently withdrawn before the inquiry by the Prices Commission was completed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Applications for Review of Tariffs.
The procedure arranged between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom provides that requests for review of protective duties and import restrictions in accordance with Article 8 of the Trade Agreement shall be made by the United Kingdom Government. Following are the particulars for which the Deputy asks:—
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1. Number of applications re ceived |
49 |
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2. Number of applications re ferred to the Prices Com mission for consideration |
49 |
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3. Number of applications with drawn before being referred to the Prices Commission |
Nil |
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4. Number of references in respect of which the Prices Commission have completed their inquiry |
11 |
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5. Number of references which were subsequently with drawn before the inquiry by the Prices Commission was completed |
5 |
Has the Minister any idea as to why the five cases were withdrawn, or has he any suspicion of the reason?
I know all about it.
Are there any grounds for thinking that the reason why the applications were withdrawn is in order to share the Irish market between British and Irish producers, and does the Minister consider that that is in the interests of Irish consumers?
That is obviously a very different question from the one the Deputy put on the Order Paper.