Vol. 389 No. 2
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason he refused to divulge to Dáil Éireann the names of meat companies which, according to him, have been involved in irregularities totalling £7.5 million, while the affairs of the Goodman group which has contributed so much to the country's meat export trade have been discussed in detail.
45.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food, in relation to a reply given by him to a number of Parliamentary Questions on 12 April 1989 whether it was his Department or the European Commission which decided on the amount of the penalties set out in his letter of 16 January 1989 to AIBP Ltd.; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
70.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the progress made to date as at 20 April 1989 in the Garda investigation referred to in his Department's letter of 16 January 1989 to Anglo-Irish Beef Processors Ltd.; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 44, 45 and 70 together.
In my reply to a number of questions on 12 April, I referred in detail to the reasons it was essential to maintain confidentiality in regard to CAP financial transactions between the State agencies and particular individuals or companies. Having regard to this principle of confidentiality, which has been applied and accepted by all past Governments, I do not propose to depart from that long established practice and to disclose or discuss details of individual cases.
I also dealt fully in my reply of 12 April with the procedures followed in reporting cases to the EC Commission and the level of liaison maintained with them.
