asked the Minister for Health if, in view of the "Buy Irish" campaign, he has advised all State-sponsored bodies under the aegis of his Department to support the campaign; and if he will indicate the amount of foreign purchases of manufactured goods, on contract or otherwise, by his Department and by the State-sponsored bodies in the past 12 months, excluding goods which are not manufactured in Ireland.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - “Buy Irish” Campaign.
2.
State-sponsored bodies under the aegis of my Department are already aware of the "Buy Irish" campaign and its particular relevance at the present time of economic difficulty.
Information on the lines sought by the Deputy is not available in my Department and its compilation would involve time-consuming and expensive research. I would not feel justified in initiating this.
Could the Minister ask the State-sponsored bodies under his control to support the "Buy Irish" campaign?
I personally did not. A circular was sent to each health board.
How is it possible for anyone to find out what purchases are made by State or semi-State organisations under the aegis of the Minister's Department?
It would be extremely difficult, as the Deputy will appreciate, to check all the purchases, the brand names, and so on, and the country of manufacture which, I presume, in nearly all cases is Ireland. The Deputy is aware that there is a combined purchasing list, and goods or items of entirely Irish manufacture represent about 98 per cent. The health boards are legally bound to buy from the combined purchasing list.
Surely then it must be very easy to compile the information sought in the question.
Unless one checks them all, one must assume that they will comply with the law. They are statutorily obliged to buy from the combined purchasing list.
Question No. 3.
That does not get away from the fact that this is a very relevant question especially in these difficult economic times. We must ensure that every penny of State funds is expended on Irish goods so far as possible.
We are having a statement from the Deputy.
Does the Minister not agree that this kind of information is not only necessary for me and for people as a whole, but particularly for him since he is responsible for the expenditure of quite a large sum of money?
It would be very difficult to determine the country of origin of every single item purchased. Some purchases were made abroad because of the fact that some of the articles required were not necessarily made in Ireland.
Question No. 3.
The Minister said 98 per cent are Irish made.
Yes, 98 per cent on the combined purchasing list.
No. 3, please.
Is this some sort of a cover up operation?
The combined purchasing list does not include every single item which might be required by a hospital or any such institution.
We must wait until the next major scandal breaks.
Could we have the next question please?
The Deputy might know a little more about the difficulties in this than Deputy MacSharry or possibly myself. There are difficulties as the Deputy is aware.
I have called the next question on at least three occasions.