asked the Minister for Agriculture if in view of the serious shortage of feeding oats for bloodstock he will allow adequate supplies to be imported.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Feeding Oats for Bloodstock.
41.
I have been keeping this matter under review. I appreciate that racehorse owners and trainers require good quality oats, but I believe that, normally, sufficient home grown oats of the right quality can be obtained, especially if suitable arrangements are made in advance by those who require a supply throughout the year. For these reasons, it has been the policy for many years past to permit imports of feeding oats only when the home crop has been seriously deficient in yield and quality. While the general quality of oats of this year's harvest may be below average, I am not at this stage quite convinced that the position is such that the bloodstock owners cannot obtain a fairly substanial proportion of their requirements from home sources. In the circumstances, and having regard to the various problems associated with this year's harvest, I have not so far been able to agree to the import of feeding oats, but I shall continue to watch the situation carefully and with due regard to the needs of the bloodstock industry.
If the Minister receives a complaint from responsible people that it is difficult to secure suitable oats for the feeding of bloodstock, would the Minister's Department be able to put those seeking the oats in touch with those who can supply them?
All these intricate questions and requests are put to my Department from time to time by the interests concerned. We have, as best we can, given the replies to them.
Can a person who can get suitable oats communicate with the Department and be put in touch with those who require them?
The Department does not consider it its duty to canvass the country to ensure that these individuals will have a supply of feeding stuffs for the animals——
There is no question of canvassing. There is a shortage of suitable oats for bloodstock feeding. Bloodstock owners seeking such oats are finding it extremely difficult and, in some cases, impossible, to get supplies for bloodstock which is one of the most valuable aspects of our agricultural exports. All I am asking is that the Minister will use the good offices of his Department to put those seeking oats in touch with those who can supply them, if the oats are there.
Over the past 30 years, interested parties have been very quick to discover that a particular year's crop was unsuitable for the purposes which the Deputy has in mind. It has not been accepted over the past 30 years. If a Minister were to act on every occasion interested parties arrived at his Department and base his decisions on every such representation I do not know where he would find himself.
I am sure the Taoiseach will appreciate how helpful that is. Take the case of a person who genuinely says that he can get suitable oats and the Department says they have made inquiries and they know where suitable oats are. Could the Department not put the people concerned in touch with one another? If the Minister inquires in Kildare, he will find that bloodstock owners are complaining.
No one is unappreciative of the importance of this industry, but it is not the be-all and end-all of everything, as far as the national interests are concerned.
Will the Minister consider contacting the various county committees of agriculture who might be able to make the information available to him?
I have been in touch with the C.A.O's. in all the counties since the harvest began, and I have received weekly reports from them on the condition of the grain crop. I have not contended in my replies that it is our approach that the crop is as good as the best. We are not satisfied that a considerable quantity could not be secured from home sources to meet our needs. We are all aware that in a case of this nature, it is only natural that you will have interested groups who pressurise—I am not complaining or blaming them for that—in order to secure advantages such as they seek to secure; but before we license the import of foreign grain, we have an over-all responsibility to make sure it is not available from home sources.