Vol. 279 No. 9
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the amount of cream and of milk, sweetened and unsweetened, processed by the Condensed Milk Company for the year preceding its takeover; the amount sold (a) on the home market and (b) for export in that year; and the steps taken to meet the home and export demands formerly filled by the company.
21.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the amount of cheese manufactured by the Condensed Milk Company in the last year before its take over; the amount sold (a) on the home market and (b) for export in that year; and why this cheese is no longer available for the home market.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 21 together. As the information requested is largely of a statistical nature, I propose to circulate with the Offical Report a statement of the required particulars of quantity.
As regards the last part of each of the questions, the filling of market demands for the products concerned is a matter for the approprite commercial interests. Ample supplies of Irish cheese are, of course, available to meet the requirements of the home market to which the Condensed Milk Company supplied only a very small proportion. Following is the statement:
Condensed Milk Company's transactions in certain dairy products in the year ended 30th November, 1974.
|
Commodity |
Unit of Quantity |
Quantity Produced |
Quantity sold on home market |
Quantity sold for export |
|
Tinned Cream |
cwt. |
1,203 |
1,418† |
Nil |
|
Sweetened Condensed Milk |
,, |
35,459 |
32,341 |
265 |
|
Unsweetened Condensed Milk |
,, |
12,320 |
11,918 |
Nil |
|
Cheese |
Tons |
2,559 |
25 |
3,913* |
†Includes tinned cream processed in the previous year.
*Includes 1,379 tons manufactured in the previous year.
Naturally I am very disappointed with the reply I got to two very important questions particularly having regard to the employment content involved.
A question, Deputy.
Will the Minister tell us what exactly he means by saying there is a sufficient supply of home produced cheese on the market? There are cheeses and cheeses in it. This brand of cheese was in great demand. There was great employment content in the manufacture of the cheese and in the processing and canning of milk.
The Deputy appreciates that he cannot make a speech on this matter.
I want to ask the Minister why I cannot get a figure——
Are we on the Estimate for the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries now?
I cannot get a simple figure. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance spent 35 Minutes——
I am afraid I cannot allow this to continue. The Deputy is entitled to ask specific questions but he may not make a speech.
I want to know why——
There are Deputies and Deputies in it, the same as cheese.
A Cheann Comhairle, what do you expect?
From whom? From the Minister?
That is not for Deputy O'Kennedy to say. Does the Minister not realise that it would be a simple thing to give me the amount sold on the home market? That is one figure. The second is the amount exported in that year and the third is why the home market demand is not fulfilled. Those are three simple figures and I have to wait for a tabular statement.
The amount of cheese sold on the home market was 25 tons. I agree that this is cheese of a very exceptional quality, beautiful cheese. Obviously, there is a limited demand for this type of cheese and it has a limited shelf life. It is soft cheese. The fact that it is off the home market at the moment does not deprive us of a lot of cheese. I just want to emphasise that to the Deputy.
The amount sold on the home market was 25 tons. Will the Minister not agree that the reason for that was that the company involved did not push the sale of the cheese? The 25 tons were sold in the city and county of Limerick and no effort was made by the then Dairy Disposal Company——
The Deputy is imparting information rather than seeking it.
This is exceptional cheese and that is all the more reason why we should have the benefit of it.
If it is of any help to the Deputy, the quantity manufactured in the last year of manufacture was 2,559 tons.
