asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware that a threshing set is urgently required by the farmers in the Cahirciveen areas; and if he will have a set placed in this area in the immediate future.

The position in regard to threshing machinery is that the supply available is inadequate to meet requirements fully. It has been found possible to import only a small number of threshing machines, and these have been allocated to those districts where there is the greatest amount of new tillage, and where the need of such machines is, therefore, most pressing. In these circumstances, I cannot undertake to have a threshing set placed in the Cahirciveen area in the immediate future, but the claims of that district will receive due consideration if further supplies become available.

Can the Minister state, approximately, the date on which he expects to be in a position to supply a threshing set?

That would be impossible.

Is the Minister expecting any at all?

We are always expecting.

Micawber used to be the same.