andMr. McQuillan asked the Taoiseach what is the approximate total of subsidies now paid to the agricultural industry which cannot continue to be made available under the Rome Treaty obligations.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Common Market: Agricultural Subsidies.
2.
Under the Rome Treaty, the Commission of the European Economic Community is the competent body to decide which aids granted by Member States are incompatible with the provisions of the Treaty by reason of the fact that they distort or threaten to distort competition. The Commission has the obligation to examine, with Member States, the systems of aid in operation. Pending such an examination in our case, it would not be possible to say which aids might be regarded as incompatible with the Treaty, but it is to be understood that it is the purposes for which aid is given, and not the total amount of the aid, which would be involved in this examination.