asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he has received statistics of June enumeration of live stock for 1951 and, if not, on what information are the figures supplied by him to Dáil Éireann on Tuesday, July 10th, during the debate on the Agriculture Estimate based.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agricultural Statistics.
Mr. Walsh
The live-stock census figures for June, 1951, are not yet available. The live-stock figures quoted by me on the occasion referred to by the Deputy were those for January, 1951, and January, 1950, as issued by the Central Statistics Office.
Is it not a fact that the figures for January are well known to the Minister for Agriculture to be estimated estimates based on spot checks throughout the country and have no relation to the enumeration that is done annually in June? Does not the Minister think that in these circumstances it was, to say the least of it, disingenuous to employ them in his Estimate speech?
Mr. Walsh
I take it that if the figures can be used in 1950 they can also be used in 1951.