Vol. 197 No. 9
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will give the total value and details of grants issued to fish processors, other than An Bord Iascaigh Mhara, for development in the Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Dublin areas, and the number of firms or individuals in each county who have obtained free grants for fish development.
70.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the total value and details of grants paid to fish processors, other than An Bord Iascaigh Mhara, for development in each of the following areas: Dublin, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Cork and Waterford.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 70 together.
For details of such grants, I would refer the Deputies to the statutory Reports and Accounts furnished by An Foras Tionscal under the Undeveloped Areas Acts, 1952, and 1957, and the Industrial Grants Act, 1959, and by the Industrial Development Authority (for the period 27th December, 1956, to 31st March, 1959) under the Industrial Grants Act, 1956. The last such Report and Accounts published were for the year ended 31st March, 1962. In compliance with these Acts, the annual reports and accounts are required to be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas. Particulars regarding grants made to fish processing industries appear in the Reports for the years ended 31st March, 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962. As I have indicated in replies to previous requests for similar information, I do not think it desirable that An Foras Tionscal should be asked to furnish information other than that included in the Annual Report and Accounts or in advance of publication of the Report and Accounts.
If information of the character referred to by the Minister is available, is it an unreasonable request that the Minister's Department would collect that information and circulate it with the Official Report, so that Deputies might know what information is there? It is true that we can refer to a series of these reports but it is extremely difficult to refer to such reports and to elicit the required information. Would it not be a very simple thing for the Minister's Department to prepare the information and have it inserted as an annexe in the Official Report?
The information requested is very easily accessible. The reports of An Foras Tionscal are very short usually and I do not think it would impose any great strain on any Deputy to inspect these reports, which are readily available in the Library. The tables of grants are very clearly set out in very short form. It would not be too difficult for my office to prepare such a list, but having regard to the availability of the figures in such a readily readable way, I do not think it necessary.
May I suggest that the Minister reconsider this for future occasions because it would be very useful to Deputies if such information were supplied as an annexe in the Official Report? In such a situation, the information would be available not only to the querists but to us all.
I shall consider it.
