With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 127 and 128 together.
As the Deputy is no doubt aware I have this morning secured as part of the compromise on the 1975-76 prices proposals the agreement of the Council of Ministers to a further reduction of 5 per cent in the representative rate for the Irish pound. The Council has also agreed to make adjustments to the representative rates for certain other member states and to reduce the remaining MCA's in the case of depreciated currencies by 1.25 per cent. The over-all effect of the monetary package is that the rate of Irish MCA is reduced from 12 per cent to 5.75 per cent. The Council has also authorised the Commission to reduce further the level of the remaining MCA on beef when the market price is below intervention.