asked the Taoiseach if he will state the total cement sales on the home market in the first eight months of (a) 1974 and (b) 1975; and the percentage change in this period.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cement Sales.
16.
Home market sales of cement were 1,081,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 1974 and were 964,000 tonnes in the corresponding period of 1975. This represents a drop of 10.8 per cent between the two periods.
Does the Parliamentary Secretary regard this as being a very serious matter?
I am sorry about it but the Deputy will be interested to know that the figures have gone up in the most recent information available to the office. The figures for the nine month period, if the Deputy had asked the question in such a way as to enable me to include September, would have shown a drop of only 8.5 per cent over a nine month period.
Did the Parliamentary Secretary use the word "only"? Is the Parliamentary Secretary satisfied with the——
The Deputy may not enter the area of policy. Question No. 17. The Parliamentary Secretary is not responsible for policy matters.
In reply to Deputy Faulkner, the most recent figures show a relative improvement although I quite agree that there is a drop.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary happy with the drop?
I have called the next question, No. 17.