asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he has seen the statement by the Secretary of the National Fish Industry Development Association that An Bord Iascaigh Mhara unwarrantably interfered in a deal in salt herrings between a private firm and a continental buyer, with the result that the private firm lost the deal; and, if so, if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sale of Salt Herrings.
I have seen the statement referred to by the Deputy. I am informed by An Bord Iascaigh Mhara that, in September last, buying agents from Prague informed a representative of the board that their suppliers in this country had failed to fill some £7,000 balance of a quota for pickled herrings to be delivered by 20th November, 1956, and inquired if the board could take up this balance. The board's representative promised to see what could be done and, on the question of price should the deal materialise, he tentatively quoted a net price c.i.f. Hamburg.
The agents in question protested that they had previously done business with a private firm here at a specified lower figure and it was then agreed to work on that figure subject to supplies being available. It transpired, however, that the fish did not become available and no business was done by the board. The board's quotation was applicable only to this offer and, in the event, neither the board nor the firm in question was in a position to meet the order within the time limit stipulated. I am satisfied—and so I gather is the Deputy—that there is no warrant for any allegation that the private firm lost the deal as a result of the board's intervention.