asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state if he has received any recent complaints regarding the distribution of bran and pollard; if he is aware that considerable dissatisfaction exists as a result of the increasing difficulty in obtaining supplies of such offal; and, if so, if he will have the matter investigated at an early date.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Distribution of Bran and Pollard.
The position in regard to bran and pollard is substantially the same as when I replied to a similar question by the Deputy on this subject seven weeks ago.
Can the Minister give any explanation of the very short stocks available of both bran and pollard? Is he aware that there is a general feeling that supplies of bran and pollard are being diverted for the production of compound feeding stuffs to be sold at a higher price?
The Deputy must know that himself. The explanation of the short supply is that we had not got as much as we had pre-war. Half of our supplies were imported at that time, and they are not coming in now. The extraction of flour is higher now than it was pre-war, so the home output is only half of the pre-war output. In reply to the last part of the Deputy's supplementary question, I understand that 25 per cent. is diverted for compound feeding stuffs and the remainder is distributed as bran and pollard.
Is the Minister prepared to say that the ratio of 25 per cent. to manufacturers of compound feeding stuffs and 75 per cent. to retail distributors to farmers is the same approximately as the ratio of distribution by the millers pre-war?
I should say that the amount distributed to the compound feeding stuffs manufacturers is not higher than it was pre-war.