asked the Minister for Health whether he is aware that the contract prices per pound for the supply of beef and mutton, respectively, to institutions in South Tipperary are:—(i) Tipperary District Hospital, 1/2½, 1/9; (ii) Carrick District Hospital, 2/-, 2/6; (iii) Cashel County Hospital, 1/7¾, 1/10¼; (iv) Cashel County Home, 1/0½, 1/3¾; (v) Clogheen District Hospital, 2/-, 2/3; (vi) Clonmel District Hospital, 1/10, 2/6; and, if so, whether he will explain why there are such big differences in the contract prices.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tipperary Meat Contract Prices.
The prices payable for beef and mutton supplied under contract to local authority institutions is a matter for the county manager of the county concerned and I have no functions in relation to them.
I am not in a position to explain why there are such differences in the prices quoted by contractors for the supply of these commodities to the different institutions in Tipperary.
Does the Minister appreciate that these are not merely the prices quoted but represent the actual contracts accepted? In the town of Cashel, for instance, there is a difference of 7d. per lb. in the meat supplied to the county home and that supplied to the county hospital. Does the Minister not consider the matter of sufficient importance to merit his intervention or, to put it another way, if the price is right is the meat right?
The Minister has stated that he has no function in the matter.