I am grateful to you, Sir, for allowing me to raise this matter. It is fortuitous that it should come up for discussion the evening before the deadline expires for the making of bids for the Government's remaining shareholding in Greencore. During the course of statements in this House on 3 March last the Minister for Finance sought to put a particular gloss on the interest being expressed by the company, ADM, in the acquisition of the Government's remaining shareholding in Greencore. According to the Minister for Finance on that date the prospecting of ADM was carried out by executives of Greencore, apparently during the latter half of the year and unknown either to the Minister for Finance or to his Department until 16 February last.
There is a very healthy respect in food industry circles in this country for ADM; this is the respect which any group of operators would have for a well run and agile competitor. ADM is a major manufacturer and trader of both sugar substitutes and cereal substitutes. It has a strong record of growth and acquisition and already has a substantial presence in the Irish market. It is not surprising there is disquiet in agri-industry circles in this country at the prospect that 30 per cent of shares in that company might pass into ADM's control. Nor is it surprising that the sugar beet producers are concerned at the prospects that 30 per cent of the shareholding in the monopoly sugar processing company, the only outlet for their product, might pass into the hands of a major manufacturer of sugar substitutes. It is worrying, therefore, that we may not have been told the whole story about the matter. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Deputy Joe Walsh, spoke on these issues in the House on 3 March last but made no reference to the fact that he, together with the secretary of his Department and a senior executive of the IDA, met executives of ADM in the United States in May of last year. In the light of all the concerns expressed both inside and outside this House we are entitled to expect some account from the Minister.
I would like to know the answers to the following questions. At whose initiative did that meeting take place? What transpired at the meeting? Were any decisions or undertakings made during the course of that meeting, and if so, what were they? Did the meeting have any bearing on or any connection with Greencore's solicitation of an interest by ADM? By what right did executives of Greencore solicit interest in the Government's remaining shareholding? Can we really believe that this was done without the express or implied approval of the Government? Did the Minister or his Department inform either the Minister for Finance and his Department or indeed the Government of what led to that meeting; what transpired at it and what resulted from it? What is the significance of the statement of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry last evening that he would now like to see an Irish headquartered company where previously he was talking about a preference for an Irish company? Finally, I would like to know if the Minister withheld from the House information relevant to the debate that took place on 3 March 1993 and, if so, why?
