Vol. 251 No. 12
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether food prices and living costs will rise on Irish entry to the EEC, and whether, simultaneously, the various existing subsidies on manufactured exports will be removed; and, if so, how Irish manufactured exports will be able to compete on British and EEC markets.
49.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce how Irish manufacturing industry will be able to survive within the EEC, in view of the fact that Irish manufactured exports may become less competitive, because of sharply rising domestic food prices and the elimination of export subsidies, and of the fact that, at the same time, the domestic market will be deprived of protection and suffer a decline in demand as a result of a rapidly decreasing agricultural population.
I propose, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 48 and 49 together.
As regards the matter of food prices and living costs, I would refer the Deputy to the replies to questions given by the Taoiseach today.
We have no subsidies on exports of manufactured goods and accordingly the question of their elimination on entry to the EEC does not arise.
It is not appropriate for me to deal with the possible effects of EEC membership on our agricultural population except perhaps to refer to the increased income of the agricultural sector which can be expected as a result of membership and the common agricultural prices. Some of this increased income of the rural population can reasonably be expected to increase the demand for the products of Irish industry.
I do not accept the implication of the questions that Irish manufactured products will become less competitive in export markets. All the efforts over the last decade or so to prepare Irish industry for freer trade have been aimed at improving its competitive position. The arrangements for a gradual phasing out over a transitional period of our tariff barriers on trade with EEC countries will give further time for the adaptation of our industry before the full impact of competition from these countries will be felt. What is of particular importance in this connection is that the cost competitiveness of Irish industry should be improved by reducing the unit cost of output. This involves improving the productivity of Irish industry so as to strengthen its ability to compete both in the home market and in export markets.
Our membership of the European Economic Community will open up to Irish industry much wider markets and greater export opportunities than at present. The elimination of the duties on Irish products entering the enlarged EEC following our accession will, of course, be of real benefit to our existing industry. Furthermore, the potential for exports within the enlarged community will greatly enhance our attractiveness as a base for new export-oriented industries.
Arising out of the Minister's presumptuous reply, did I hear the Minister aright when he said that as Minister for Industry and Commerce he had no responsibility for the agricultural community?
No, I did not say that.
I think it was somewhere at the beginning of the reply.
No. I said it was not appropriate for me to deal with the possible effects of EEC membership on our agricultural population.
Would the Minister not have the responsibility of providing employment for those who may have to leave the land?
That is why I dealt so exhaustively with that subject in the rest of my reply.
Is the Minister now forecasting that there will be an increase in industrial employment if we enter the EEC?
I said that the potential for exports within the enlarged Community will greatly enhance our attractiveness as a base for new export-oriented industries.
Question No. 50.
I hope I will be allowed to ask a supplementary.
The Deputy usually has supplementaries.
In error I mentioned export subsidies. What I meant was export incentives by way of tax free allowances which will last until 1990. According to the Rome Treaty, Article 54 I think, such incentives will not be permitted. Is the Minister aware of that fact, and is he aware of the fact that companies in this country which are merely subsidiaries of major international companies will be adversely affected by Article 54 of the Rome Treaty? This relates to my first question, "whether food prices and living costs will rise on Irish entry to the EEC, and whether, simultaneously, the various existing subsidies on manufactured exports will be removed". What I meant was whether the tax free concessions will be removed. They must be removed according to the Rome Treaty.
The Ceann Comhairle will appreciate that I cannot be held responsible for the Deputy's mistakes.
Does it not alter the question?
It would alter the question considerably.
Does the Minister not agree that, if concessions are given to companies who are exporting, that amounts to a subsidy?
I do not agree.
