asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he anticipates any loss to the State in the completion of the contract to supply 50,000 tons of ware potatoes to Britain, and if he will give details of the quantity already supplied, the price obtained and the loss, if any, sustained.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Supply of Potatoes to Britain.
I am not yet in a position to state whether any loss will be sustained on the contract to supply ware potatoes to Britain.
When is it hoped to complete the contract?
The final date prescribed in the contract is 15th May.
What are the prospects of completion before that date.
The contract must be completed before that date.
What are the prospects?
There is no prospect. There is a certainty.
From what sources will the contract be completed?
If the Deputy will make his inquiries as to the source of supply and any other particulars he may require after 15th May, I shall be glad to furnish him with the particulars but I think the Deputy will understand that it would make my task no easier if, when I am in the process of delicate negotiations of this character, I were expected by Dáil Éireann to inform all potential suppliers in advance of my intention to purchase.
Would the Minister give the House some indication as to the reason for the reluctance on the part of his Department, himself and the Parliamentary Secretary, who has replied for him on similar questions such as this for the past two weeks, to give the House and the country the information to which they are entitled on this important matter?
I submit, with respect to the House, that when trade operations of this kind are in hand, if the House is fully informed of the terms of the contract when it is entered into and fully informed when the contract has been concluded of what has transpired, the House is receiving all the information that can be reasonably asked for. But, to ask for periodic reports as to where it is intended to buy potatoes, how it is intended to buy potatoes, whether potatoes are scarce, can anyone rig the market against the Minister if he goes looking for potatoes, does not seem to me a reasonable request for the House to make. The moment this contract is concluded, on 15th May, the fullest information will be laid before the House. Ad interim, I can add nothing to what I have already said.