asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the total number of prices applications under current legislation received by him in the past 12 months; the total number of applications fully and partly agreed to by his Department; the criteria by which such sanctions were given by his Department; and if it is his intention to introduce amending legislation to strengthen price surveillance and price monitoring.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Price Control.
50.
During the past 12 months I was notified of 345 proposals to increase prices. In that period I indicated in 127 cases that I would raise no objection to the full increase proposed and in 139 cases to part of the increase proposed. Very many of the firms involved claimed compensation by way of a price increase for only part of the vouched increases in costs incurred by them. In general, I require firms to absorb a considerable proportion of their unavoidable increases in costs. I do not consider that any amendment of the existing price control legislation is necessary.
Is the Minister aware that so great is the general dissatisfaction with the quite extraordinary increase in prices lately, particularly in the case of foodstuffs, that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have refused to renominate their representatives to the Prices Advisory Body's panel? Does he fully accept that there is now quite absolute failure on the part of the very marginal prices investigatory machinery in operation in the State and would be urgently set in train some effective surveillance machinery, more particularly now that foodstuffs have gone up by 16 per cent in the past 18 months alone? He cannot blame it all on wages now, in case he gets on to that tack.
I do not accept what the Deputy says at all.
Might I put it to the Minister that apart from minor information like the total number of applications received or agreed by the Minister, there is no information available as to the criteria he operates in the granting or refusing of applications for increases? We do not know what profits he allows, what costs he allows, apart from the 7 per cent, and generally we do not know whether he accepts the prices and incomes recommendations of the NIEC in relation to price control and price surveillance.
I think the Deputy is confusing a number of very different things. The last matter to which he referred, the NIEC recommendations, is quite apart from the margin of profit allowed or such items as he mentioned previously. It refers to the structure by which surveillance is kept on prices. That is a very different matter.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.