asked the Minister for Agriculture the progress which has been made with the import substitution of the considerable volume of fruit, vegetables and potatoes coming into the country.
41.
Ceisteann—Questions. Oral Answers. - Horticultural Imports.
14.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is satisfied with the progress of the development of the horticultural industry since he took office; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Question No. 14 and Priority Question No. 41 together. Home production of fruit and vegetables grown for the fresh market has been expanding and there was a 6 per cent increase in acreage between 1982 and 1984. During the same period imports of produce of the types that can be grown here, including potatoes, decreased by 22 per cent.
Efforts are being continued by my Department, An Foras Talúntais and ACOT, in conjunction with the growers' organisations, to seek ways of further reducing imports and developing the industry by the application of new production technology, improved marketing arrangements and the provision of a reorganised horticultural advisory service.
Continued progress will be helped by the introduction of legislation to provide for the registration of potato growers and packers. Financial help is available from my Department to aid the establishment of a national potato co-operative, for the conversion of glasshouses from oil to solid fuel heating, for the employment of a market co-ordinator for the glasshouse industry and for setting up producer groups, for example, the horticultural co-operative launched today.
There is scope for further development and expansion and they can be realised more readily by the fullest co-operation between grower and the other sectors in the industry.
Is the Minister satisfied with the progress made to date to encourage growers to become involved in producer groups? If he is not satisfied what measures does he propose to take to encourage growers to become involved?
One is never satisfied but when one considers the problems encountered by the potato co-operative one can say that progress has been reasonably good. They ran into some marketing problems but the Deputy will be pleased to hear that they have now tied in with a marketing group of national standing to set up a marketing arm to the potato co-operative. The launching of the horticultural co-operative this morning is another good move. They are doing their business in a realistic manner. They are starting in the Dublin -Meath area and tying in with some of the major retail outlets. I am happy that they are taking the right road.
Having regard to the Minister's statement about the structures that are available and the fact that those structures are inadequate to deal with the development of the horticultural industry, not to talk about the stemming of the ever-increasing flow of imports, I should like to know if the Minister has any plans in the pipeline to establish new structures for the industry to allow it to expand.
The Deputy must not have been listening to me when I made the point that the setting up of two co-operatives of national standing was the ideal way to go about this. The Dutch, and our other competitors, have been highly successful in that regard. I have no reason to doubt this proposal.
Will the Minister agree that a really positive step would be to expedite the natural gas pipeline north of Dublin to the fruit and vegetable growing areas? That would go a long way towards improving the position.
I accept that the heating of glasshouses is a big problem, but I must point out that the grant scheme for the conversion from oil to solid fuel has been taken up by at least 11 of the major producers in the business.
Is the Minister aware of the huge capital investment involved in the conversion from oil to solid fuel? Will the Minister give specific aid by way of interest subsidy on borrowings for such investment to encourage more people to convert?
We are not contemplating anything like that but we are looking at the possibility of giving some type of grant aid for double cladding.