Vol. 405 No. 6
30 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if his Department have examined the effects on industry and services such as lower sales of machinery, employment and lower demand for services outside the agriculture sector of the proposals of the Commissioner for Agriculture on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy; the results of that study; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
No such examination has yet been carried out as no specific proposals for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy have yet been made, let alone accepted. My Department will make whatever input is appropriate to the assessment of the wider effects of any change in the policy when the proposals are published. The Government's definitive position on the matter will then be decided prior to any discussion of the proposals in the Agriculture Council.
