asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the number of prosecutions which have been instituted against persons for using wheatenmeal as animal feeding, since the inception of the subsidy scheme for this commodity on 13th October, 1941.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Wheatenmeal as Animal Food.
The number of cases in which prosecutions were instituted for feeding subsidised wheatenmeal to animals in the period 13th October, 1941, to 16th November, 1949, was four.
Can the Minister state when the last prosecution took place?
I am afraid I cannot tell the Deputy that.
In view of the fact that only four prosecutions took place in a period of eight years, would the Minister agree that the statement made by the Minister for Agriculture in the Dáil on the 2nd November, 1949, as reported in column 263 of the Official Report, in which he said that
"there is good reason to believe that a substantial part of the total production of wheatenmeal——"
That is not a supplementary question. The Deputy is not allowed to read the debates during Question Time.
Would the Minister agree that the statement made by the Minister for Agriculture, to the effect that a substantial part of the production of wheatenmeal was being used for animal food, was grossly exaggerated?
I do not agree at all. The Deputy knows quite well that the total number of prosecutions does not necessarily give any picture of the number of offences.
It was a rather wild statement to make.
There are pretty good grounds for making the statement.