asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (1) what preferential advantages this country enjoys in the British market in respect of (a) cattle and beef; (b) dairy products; (c) pigmeat; (d) poultry and eggs; (e) cereals; (f) sugar; and (g) sheep and mutton; and (2) at what rate and over what period these preferential advantages will be phased out.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agricultural and Dairy Exports.
60.
The reply is in the form of a detailed statement which, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to circulate in the Official Report. Following is the statement:
1. (a) and (g) Store Cattle, Store Sheep and Store Lambs: Guaranteed duty-free access and, following fattening for not less than two months in the United Kingdom, eligibility for deficiency payments at the same rates as are payable in respect of cattle, sheep and lambs bred in the United Kingdom.
Fat Cattle, Fat Sheep and Lambs, Carcase Beef and Carcase Lamb: Duty-free access. Britain may regulate imports only in the context of an inter-Governmental commodity agreement, or other international arrangement, which would involve both regulation of British domestic production, or marketing and regulation of imports from other sources into Britain.
The Government of the United Kingdom pays each year to the Government of Ireland, in respect of the amount of carcase beef and carcase lamb of defined classes imported into the United Kingdom from Ireland in each fatstock year, a sum equivalent to the average sum payable in that year, under the United Kingdom fatstock price guarantee system, on an equivalent amount of carcase beef and carcase lamb produced in the United Kingdom, subject to the liability of the Government of the United Kingdom being limited to 25,000 tons of carcase beef and 5,500 tons of carcase lamb.
(b), (c) and (d) Dairy Products, Pigmeat, Poultry and Eggs: Duty-free access. Britain may regulate imports only in the context of an inter-Governmental commodity agreement, or other international arrangement, which would involve both regulation of British domestic production or marketing and the regulation of imports from other sources into Britain. Certain multilateral United Kingdom quantitative arrangements applied to butter and bacon imports into the United Kingdom prior to the 1965 Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement; any new arrangements affecting these products may not be less favourable for Ireland than those which applied prior to the Agreement.
(e) Cereals: Any new United Kingdom import arrangement may not be less favourable than that which applied prior to the coming into operation of the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement, 1965.
(f) Sugar: Access for 10,500 tons per year of Irish refined sugar to the United Kingdom market and liability on the part of the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to Cómhlucht Siúicre Éireann Teoranta for payments by way of compensation in respect of United Kingdom sugar import surcharge.
2. The phasing out of these advantages after entry to the EEC was indicated in the reply to Deputy Hogan's question of 2nd December, 1971 on the same subject.