Vol. 418 No. 9
102 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many families expressed dissatisfaction over this year's free beef distribution; and if he will recommend to the EC that fresh beef be made available at the next beef distribution as was always made available heretofore.
My Department has received no complaints arising from the distribution of the free beef in the form of processed and canned beef. The decision to can the beef this year was made by my Department to best preserve the high quality of the beef and to facilitate convenience and distribution. This distribution method is employed by most other EC member states involved in the scheme. Preliminary reports are that this method was successful this year in Ireland and is likely to be repeated.
