asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries 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. - Foreign Goods Purchases.
43.
I have not considered it necessary to advise the State-sponsored bodies under the aegis of my Department on the lines suggested. I am satisfied that the bodies concerned are aware of the desirability of purchasing Irish made goods whenever possible. The answer to the remainder of the question is: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, £6,011, An Foras Talúntais, £306, Bord na gCon, £14,238.
Does this include any new materials supplied for new buildings or for refurnishing of buildings where the goods may have been supplied by an Irish agent but manufactured abroad?
The £6,011 referred to in the reply represents a single purchase of labels and insert cards for seed potatoes by the agricultural production division. In this case, the Stationery Office who would normally make such a purchase for the Department reported that they were unable to get a satisfactory quotation. The Department then approached three firms in Ireland and two in the United Kingdom. Two quotations were received, one Irish and one English. The Irish quotation was for £12,163 and, furthermore, the label eyelet was not regarded as satisfactory. The lower English quotation was £6,011. We have the evidence that it was 50 per cent lower than the Irish quotation.
Can the Minister give us any indication of the quality of the labels?
They say that the quality of the Irish label was unsatisfactory and it was 50 per cent higher in price.
I have experience of one of these firms. They were always very competitive. I would be greatly surprised if their quotation was 50 per cent in excess unless there was a difference in the quality of the label.
The note I have indicates that the Irish one was inferior.
Is the Minister aware that you need a very good quality label inside and outside a sack of potatoes when they are being shipped long distances?
I was concerned about the quality.
I regard this present trend at Departmental level as being very serious.
So do I.
I appreciate that. Was the Minister shown the samples of the English product and the Irish product?
No.
Did he take the word of someone who inspected them? It seems unbelievable to me there could be such a vast difference between the cost of the English and the Irish label. There must be some explanation.
You get that sort of enormous difference between a firm which have a very big run in a particular product and a firm here at home with a small output.
I could accept a small difference but this is a major difference.
The need for this type of label would be very small in the country as a whole. The demand would be very small.
Has the Minister a breakdown of the expenditure by An Foras Talúntais?
That is only £300.
Bord na gCon?
I dealt with this previously in the House when I said there was only one other firm capable of turning out the product they wanted. It is the thing you wind around the totaliser. In that case, on an order of £14,000 there was a difference of £5,000.
Could the difference in the label quotation be drawn to the attention of that firm?
They got a final chance. They were told where they stood and they still refused to move. There was no question of their not being given every chance.
In view of the things which are happening in other Departments, will the Minister keep an eye on this situation during the coming year when we need employment so badly?
I am concerned to ensure that as far as is possible and reasonable we buy everything at home.