asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on publicity material and advertising directed towards the public, concerning this country's proposed membership of the European Economic Community; and what further expenditure is contemplated.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Membership of EEC.
9.
Actual expenditure to date on publicity material in regard to our proposed membership of the European Communities and in advertising its availability amounts to £2,040.
It is estimated that further expenditure will be of the order of £34,000 up to the end of this financial year.
Would the Minister say whether the policy towards the EEC will be among the matters which will be handled by the new public relations firm the Government have hired in an effort to rehabilitate their image?
Since the premise behind that question is completely false, I find myself unable to answer it.
Which well-known public relations firm did the Government employ?
May I ask the Minister if he would reply to Deputy Cruise-O'Brien? On the assumption that he is not going to reply, may I ask the Minister if he will give us some indication as to how the £8,500 per month between this and March will be spent? The figure mentioned is £34,000. Could we have an indication as to where and how this will be spent? Could we have a breakdown of the figure? Is it newspaper advertising for the referendum or pamphlets or advertising on television?
No. The bulk of the sum is in relation to the printing of material and the balance will be in relation to the advertising of the availability of the material on radio and television and in the newspapers.
Could the Minister say whether any of the money spent on publicity and so on will be dealt with by the new Swiss firm?
I do not think that arises on this question.
It is a separate question.
In fact, the firm to which the Deputy refers will not operate in this country at all.
I know that. I understood there were a number of PR firms in this country. Are the Government unaware of them? Could I ask the Minister whether, in fact, this Swiss firm will be dealing with matters like our EEC application and explaining to people abroad the reasons behind it, and so on? Does the Minister know whether this firm will take part in this publicity?
The question relates to publicity material and advertising directed towards the public. It was assumed that this referred to the public here and the answer is based on that assumption. The activities of the firm to which the Deputy referred, or any other firm outside this country, is outside the scope of this question.
How will paying this Swiss firm affect our balance of payments?
Question No. 10.
May I ask the Minister——
No. I have called Question No. 10. We have a large number of questions to deal with and Deputies are not co-operating.
There is a large amount of money disclosed here.
I have called Question No. 10.
Because of the large amount of money involved, I wish to give notice that I intend to raise this matter on the Adjournment.
The Chair will communicate with the Deputy.
I do not like to see £34,000 squandered——
The Deputy need not make a speech about it at this stage.
We have not found the £100,000 yet.
Perhaps the Deputy will justify that mis-statement he has just made, misleading the House and the country.
The Taoiseach misled the people last night about law and order. He did not know which side of the Border he was on.
10.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will indicate what differences, if any, exist between the negotiating positions of the four applicant countries for EEC membership in relation to animal health.
11.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the result of the negotiations with the EEC in relation to animal health which took place last week; and if he will indicate the next step he proposes to take in relation to this matter.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 11 together.
The negotiating positions of the four applicant countries on animal health reflect the differences in the health status of livestock in each of these countries. In the negotiations I have stressed our unique animal health status and the necessity to preserve it. Certain proposals put to us by the Community at last week's meeting at official level fell far short of our requests. At the ministerial negotiating. session on Monday last I again reiterated our position and asked the Community to reconsider their proposals. Their response is now awaited.
Could the Minister state why it has not been possible to give some information in response to Question No. 10?
I have replied to Question No. 10.
Is it not the case that the Minister has merely told us they are doing what they think is best for them. Any fool knows that a country which is negotiating is going to do what is best for itself. I have asked for specific information about the negotiating position they have adopted. That information is available to the Minister and is not available in the same way to Members of this House. I feel the Minister could have done the House the courtesy of giving information which is useful for preparing arguments and assessing the possibilities of co-operation with the other applicants.
The Deputy appreciates that the position of the four applicants is not the same in all matters. There are certain common positions but there are also different positions but as I have indicated the proposals which have been put forward by the Commission at official level fall far short of our requirements. The Minister has told the Community at the ministerial negotiations that this is so and he has asked them to reconsider their proposals and we are awaiting hearing from them.
Does the Minister have any information about the negotiating position of the other countries and if so why cannot he give it to the House?
The positions differ.
I am calling Question No. 12.