Vol. 363 No. 12
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture with reference to his answer to Parliamentary Question No. 151 of 28 January, if he will now state whether other irregularities concerning weights were found by his inspectors prior to the movement of beef and other products into intervention.
86.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture with reference to his answer to Paliamentary Question No. 151 of 28 January, if any losses were suffered by suppliers/farmers in the cases referred to.
87.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture with reference to his answers to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 151 and 163 of 28 January, if the irregularities mentioned have resulted in criminal proceedings and, if not, the reason; if the Department of Justice or the Director of Public Prosecutions were informed and, if not, the reason; and if, in the case of intervention purchases, his staff takes over the functions normally vesting in the officials of the Department of Justice.
88.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture with reference to his answer to Parliamentary Question No. 151 of 28 January, who investigated and settled the two cases referred to, and if the relevant EC authorities were notified.
89.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture with reference to his answer to Parliamentary Question No. 151 of 28 January, if he will state the years in which these irregularities occured.
90.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture the amount of moneys involved in each of the cases referred to in his answer to Parliamentary Question No. 151 of 28 January last; and the time period during which the irregularities occurred.
91.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture with reference to his answers to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 151 and 163 of 28 January, if he will state: (a) the number of firms who sold into intervention and who have ceased trading or been taken over in the period in question; and (b) if any of those firms are the same as the two firms referred to in answer No. 151 of 28 January.
92.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture if any of the irregularities referred to in his answer to Question No. 151 of 28 January were made known to farmers representatives; and if it is his intention to notify them of any future irregularities uncovered by his staff.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 to 92, inclusive, together. The two irregularities referred to in the reply to Question No. 151 of 28 January took place in the period April 1982 to July 1983 and involved amounts of some £59,000 and £48,000. They related exclusively to transactions between the firms concerned and my Department. The question of advising farmers' representatives does not arise in such circumstances. No losses are known to have been suffered by suppliers or farmers as a consequence of the irregularities and no other irregularities concerning weights came to notice in these cases either before or after the beef was moved into intervention.
In accordance with standard practice, the cases were investigated by my Department in consultation with the State's legal advisers and, in one case, the Garda Síochána. The Commission of the European Communities was also involved. Satisfactory settlements were reached in both cases and the question of further legal action did not arise.
Because of temporary suspensions of trading and various total and partial changes of ownership precise information on the number of firms which sold beef into intervention during the period covered by Question No. 151 and have since ceased trading or changed ownership is not readily available. So far as my Department are aware, however, at least one of the two firms referred to in the reply to that question would fall within that category.
