asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state the price per stone paid to producers for flax in (a) the Six Counties, and (b) the Twenty-Six Counties in the years 1947-48, 1948-49 and 1949-50.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Flax Prices.
The matter mentioned at (a) does not come within my functions. As regards (b) the price for 1947-48 was 25/9 per cent stone for Grade V flax and for 1948-49 34/6 per stone for Grade V flax. I had no responsibility for the prices paid for the 1949-50 season, but announcements in the newspapers of March and April, 1949, gave the price as 28/- per stone for Grade V flax.
The foregoing prices are subject to an increase of 1/6 per stone for grades higher than Grade V and a corresponding reduction for Grade VI.
Turbine-scutched flax normally fetches 1/6 per stone more than the appropriate grade price.