asked the Taoiseach if he is aware that, at the conference representative of county committees of agriculture, over which he presided at a Dublin hotel on 16th January, 1952, the price expected to be paid for malting barley during the coming season was discussed and if he will accordingly state whether he indicated to the conference any knowledge the Government had as to this matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Malting Barley Price.
I presume that the conference to which the Deputy refers is the Food Production Conference which was held on the 16th January, 1952, which I addressed, but at which the Minister for Agriculture presided. It can hardly be said that there was a discussion on the price of barley at that meeting. There was an incidental reference made to it by some of the speakers in regard to the relative profitability to the farmer of wheat and barley.
As regards the second part of the question, the only knowledge I had with regard to the price of barley was the arrangement that had been made for the 1951 crop, that is a minimum price of 57/6 per barrel, with the stipulation that not less than 2/6 per barrel would be paid for the crop above the average British price, and any references that were made to the price of barley at the meeting were interpreted by me as referring to that arrangement which I expected was to continue. It was only on the following day, when the advertisement from Messrs. Guinness appeared, that I was aware of a new arrangement regarding the position. The Minister for Agriculture was in the same position, except that he informed me that he had heard that there were rumours that some change had been made. That is the position.
Is the Taoiseach aware that the Minister for Agriculture discussed with the grain committee of the beet growers' association some seven days before the conference to which the Taoiseach has referred the question of the relativity of the price of wheat with that of barley and was it possible to have such a discussion when the new price then disclosed had already been fixed?
As far as I know— that is, from later information—the new price was arranged on the 8th January, and if you take it that that discussion took place some seven days before the conference, surely you cannot draw any conclusions from that.
It was either on the 7th or 8th January that grain importers saw the Minister for Agriculture.
Was that before or after the arrangement had been come to?
After.
I have no information on that and I do not think it is true. Ask the Minister for Agriculture for details.
The Taoiseach was the senior member of the Government at that conference.
And the Taoiseach has given the full amount of the information he had at the conference.