I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 31 together.
The basic cause of the present situation in the bakery industry is not the recent bread price war which was dealt with in some detail by the Minister for Industry and Commerce on 12 February but a longstanding over-capacity problem in the industry combined with changing consumer patterns and the entry into the industry of new and more efficient operators. These facts were acknowledged in the report of a study of the industry carried out by the Sectoral Development Committee last year.
In so far as my Department's area of responsibility is concerned, the main recommendation in this report is that the industry itself is best placed to take the initiative in planning its future and that it should do so with the minimum of Government involvement. Based on that recommendation, I would see the role of my Department to examine rationalisation proposals put forward by the industry and to encourage and support such proposals where it is appropriate to do so. The other main recommendations in the report are matters for other Government Ministers in the first instance.