asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if, pursuant to his powers under Section 19 (2) of the Export Promotion Act, 1959, he directed the Irish Export Board to include information on any particular aspects of the Board's activities under the Act; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in the annual reports for the year ended 31st March 1962 there is no information as to the quantities of commodities exported; and if he considers that it is desirable that, in addition to giving details of the value of the various commodities exported, comparative tables of the quantities of commodities exported in the year comprised in the year and in the immediately preceding year should be given.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Export Board.
35.
The answer to the first part of the Deputy's question is no.
I am aware that value data only are used throughout the commodity review accompanying the annual report of Córas Tráchtála. This method of classification makes for readier comparison of the relative performance in different commodity groups for which, in a number of instances, there is no common unit of quantity. Córas Tráchtála have, however, indicated that they will consider the inclusion of some quantity data in future annual reports.
The Deputy will, I am sure, be aware that detailed statistics of external trade by both quantity and value are published monthly by the Central Statistics Office and that a review of external trade is also prepared by the Central Statistics Office at six monthly intervals.