asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce 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.
18.
I am satisfied that the State-sponsored bodies under the aegis of my Department are fully conscious of the desirability of giving maximum support to Irish industry by purchasing Irish-made goods wherever possible. So far as my Department are concerned, apart from specialised equipment not made in the country, direct purchases are negligible. In regard to State-sponsored bodies it would not be feasible to give the information requested by the Deputy, which could not be extracted by these bodies from their purchasing records.
Could the Minister explain what difficulty those companies would have in finding out what contracts are placed abroad and what contracts are placed at home? Surely if the Minister requested that information he could get it instantly.
I asked a similar question in 1972 and I received the answer on the basis of feasibility, which I accepted then. The extracting of that continuously from the records of these companies would require very considerable effort. In regard to the technicalities involved it could not be done instantly. The answer that was good for me in 1972 is still good—that the effort in time, staff and money of extracting that from the record puts it beyond the limit of feasibility.
Would the Minister not agree that the situation today is very different from that in 1972? We have a grave economic crisis now. Should he not use the authority of his office to make sure that these people support Irish industry to the very hilt?
I do use the authority of my office.
If contracts are placed with an Irish firm and foreign goods are purchased does the Minister in his reply indicate that no account is taken of that?
I said that the direct purchasing on behalf of my Department, except for highly specialised things was minimal but that many of the things purchased are manufactured in only one or two places in the world. Of course, they have to be obtained in the best place at the best price. With that proviso it is settled, long continued and continuously reiterated policy to buy the maximum in Ireland.
In relation to the bulk purchasing the Minister mentioned some time ago that the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs purchased for the Naval Service shoes from Saville Row.
This is not relevant, Deputy.
He indicated that the purchase was made from an Irish supplier and that that was all right.