asked the Minister for Agriculture the plans he has to encourage the growing of potatoes by a greater number of small garden owners; and the plans he has to improve the quality of ware potatoes for the Irish housewife.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Ware Potatoes.
12.
The acreage under potatoes, which had been declining in recent years, increased by about 5 per cent in 1982. Commercial production of potatoes is adequate to meet domestic requirements but, as stated in reply to a question on 10 February, there is considerable scope for better marketing and presentation of potatoes. My Department are endeavouring to effect an improvement in potato quality by enforcement of the potato quality and grading regulations and — something which I favour — by encouraging better organisation of the market by producers and traders.
Mr. Leonard
Would the Minister not agree that it is on the processing of potatoes that we have fallen down? The proper varieties for processing as frozen chips and other processed potato foods are not grown here.
I agree with the Deputy. In this matter we are up against the Dutch who can export up to 25 tonnes of a particular variety of potatoes to this country for processing. This is a potato with a very shallow eye and can be peeled easily. We have a problem but we are trying to identify it, in view of the fact that there are people interested in becoming involved on the processing side. The bulk of our chips, crisps and flake are imported at the moment.
(Limerick West): Are there any plans in the Minister's Department to encourage the production of a potato suitable for the chip trade?
We have such a variety but it has to satisfy certain standards. The variety Cara is considered to be eminently suitable.
Question No. 13 in the name of Deputy John O'Leary. We must move on.
Mr. Leonard
One brief supplementary. Would the Minister not agree that the Department have been very lax over the last number of years about trying to identify and propagate new varieties of potato suitable for processing at a time when the IDA were grant-aiding factories to process a food which was not even being grown here?
That is a separate question, Deputy.
Mr. Leonard
It is not.
Indeed, it is.
I will endeavour to answer the question. It is a fact that many varieties of potato were tried which were suitable on the Continent but did not prove suitable here. Basically, the potato growers have had to go into the breeding game and the variety Cara is a product of the Department.