I regret to have to raise this matter at such a late hour at considerable inconvenience to the Chair and to the staff of the House. I would not do so if it were not a matter of considerable importance.
The position is that the level of imports of eggs to Ireland has risen dramatically. In 1978 we imported approximately £350,000 worth of eggs; in 1979 this increased to almost £3 million, an eight-fold increase in value in the amount of eggs being imported. This trend has continued in 1980. In the first two months of 1980 the increase in value terms in imported eggs was 854 per cent higher than the amount imported in January and February of the previous year. This has had dramatic effects on the industry here. The number of layers decreased by 25 per cent in one year from 1978 to 1979 and this decline is continuing. This is of considerable importance when one realises that there are 2,000 jobs at stake in our egg industry. If the growth in imports continues nothing is more certain than that those 2,000 jobs will be lost for good. Already one quarter of the entire egg market here has been taken over by imports, and if the present rate of increase continues it will not be long before 50 per cent or perhaps a higher proportion of our egg market is taken over.
The most worrying fact is that many of the imported eggs are being marketed under brand names which appear to indicate origin in the South. The name of the distributor with a southern Irish address appears on the package and an innocent purchaser would assume they were of southern Irish origin. Only when one examines the code on the package can one know that these eggs are entirely imported so far as every aspect of added value is concerned. If the first digit is 8 then the eggs originated in this State. If the first digit is 9 as is often the case with eggs marketed by companies and some co-ops in the south, that indicates that those egges are UK eggs. This is happening on a very wide scale, and I believe our consumers are being deceived by the labels used in marketing these eggs and that there is a case for action to be taken to prevent this deception continuing under the Consumer Information Act. I ask the Minister for Agriculture to take this matter up with the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism so as to prevent this deception of the consumer.
These imports are taking place because the eggs are being exported at less than the cost of production. The purpose is to eliminate Irish egg producers so that in two or three years time when that purpose is accomplished the importing companies—in one case a very large multi-national firm with tentacles all over the western world—will be able to dominate the southern Irish market and charge whatever price it likes. This is a classic tactic to eliminate a weak industry—to sell below cost for a limited period and once sufficient damage has been done to eliminate the competition you can then come in with your monopoly.
The case of imports below costs is clearly a defiance of the principles laid down in the Treaty of Rome and in particular of Article 85 of the Treaty concerning fair competition. I have no doubt that importing eggs below cost is unfair competition within the meaning of the Treaty. Has the Minister taken up this matter with the Commission? Has he lodged a formal complaint with the Commission with a view to action being taken? Is he prepared to initiate a legal case in the court which decides on cases of breach of the provisions of the Treaty of Rome? If the Minister has not done any of these things I charge him with failing to deal with the matter.
I raised this question in the House two months ago and at that stage the only answer I could elicit was that the Minister was investigating the matter. I was forced two months later to repeat the question. This time he admitted there was something wrong, but that was only as a result of the previous prodding by myself and others. On 4 June in reply to Question No. 31 the Minister stated:
From the information available it seems clear that some importers of eggs are engaged in below-cost selling. The courses of action open to me to counter this situation are being examined.
I raise the matter this evening to discover what is being done. What are the courses of action that are being examined? Has the examination been completed in any case and has any action being taken? On past performance I am not in any sense confident that action is being taken.
One of the obvious ways of dealing with this matter under existing law is to refer the case of below cost selling, which is an aspect of unfair competition, to the Restrictive Practices Commission established under Irish law to deal with such cases. I referred this matter to the Examiner of Restrictive Practices two months ago. When I made enquiries recently I discovered to my surprise that I was the first person to have referred it to him apart from the National Egg Producers Co-Op which had been in touch with him before me. I was particularly surprised that at no stage until I approached the Examiner of Restrictive Practices had the Department of Agriculture made any approach to the body charged specifically with the duty of investigating instances of unfair competition. This indicates evidence of dereliction of duty on the part of the Minister and the Department in not availing of all existing statutory powers to protect egg producers here, most important amongst them perhaps being the powers of the Examiner of Restrictive Practices.
Further evidence of the unfairness of the present spate of imports from Northern Ireland particularly is the fact that subsidies are available in Northern Ireland which are not available here. To the best of my knowledge the egg industry in Northern Ireland has received substantial financial assistance from the UK Government. As a result it has built itself up to a very strong situation in the market, a situation which has not obtained in the case of egg producers in the Republic. Giving of national aid to a commodity such as eggs which are governed by Common Agricultural Policy is prohibited under EEC law and should have ceased in any part of the nine member states of the Community. I challenge the Minister with responsibility to vindicate or deny the statements I am about to make, that in defiance of EEC rules the UK Government are continuing to give subsidies to egg producers in Northern Ireland. I am reliably informed that a subsidy of 8.4p per dozen was given originally in Northern Ireland to egg producers there on the grounds that feed costs more in Northern Ireland than on what they describe as the mainland of the United Kingdom, and another subsidy is given to them in relation to eggs to cover the cost of sea transport between Northern Ireland and England, Scotland or Wales.
I understand that it was thought by those concerned with this matter in the European Commission that the subsidies to Northern Ireland egg producers had ceased. However, the information which I have obtained today suggests that in defiance of EEC rules these subsidies, which are entirely artificial State aid and contrary to the directives of the European Commission in this matter, are continued in Northern Ireland. Not only are they importing eggs to this State at below cost but they are being substantially assisted in doing so by their Government. This adds a further grievance on top of the one which exists already.
There is the problem of proving the existence of below cost importation. It is essential that dockets be obtained concerning the cost at which eggs are being sold and the cost at which they are being produced. I am informed that our inspectorate governing the importation of eggs are insufficiently staffed at the moment to obtain all the information necessary to make a convincing case to the European Commission in this matter. Is the Minister of State satisfied that adequate inspectorate staff exist to obtain all of the information which is necessary to prove the case for the curtailment of those exports? I believe it can be shown to the satisfaction of the authorities here that the UK authorities are engaging in illegal practices in subsidising egg production in Northern Ireland, which enables the producers there to gain a foothold in our market by means of below cost selling, which is unfair competition. If already a breach of the rules is taking place in Northern Ireland our Government would be entitled, if not in legal terms certainly in moral terms, to also break the law and stop those imports taking place, even though this might technically constitute a breach of the Treaty of Rome if those imports are, by virtue of the State aid they are receiving, an incident of defiance of existing practices, which are laid down under the Treaty and by the various rules made under it by the European Commission, that State aid, which should not be given, is actually being given. Our Government would be justified in taking retaliatory action to stop such imports.
I am not in a position to prove beyond doubt that such State aid is being given in Northern Ireland, but the Department should be in a position to satisfy themselves about this. They should take whatever action is necessary to stop this situation developing. If it continues for much longer I am convinced that there will be substantial redundancies in the egg industry here. If that happens I do not believe the situation can be repaired, because the market will be penetrated once and for all, contacts and contracts will have been entered into and we will never be able to retrieve the situation which now exists.
The case of the importation of eggs is only one incident of an alarming growth in the importation of food to our market. I believe this is the case in relation to vegetables, potatoes, poultry and meat.
