asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state what arrangements have been made to secure our petrol requirements for the next six months.

Arrangements for securing supplies of petroleum products for the next six months have not yet been completed.

asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state if the existing petrol ration will continue; and if the petrol position in this country is sufficiently safe to enable all private cars to be kept on the road.

It is not possible to give an unqualified assurance regarding the availability of any commodity which is in short supply or the importation of which may raise foreign exchange problems. If it should be found necessary to make any change in the present basis of petrol rationing the earliest possible notice will be given.

asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state why petrol was not available to farmers who wished to employ lorries at harvesting work this season, when such vehicles, if so employed, would greatly relieve the transport situation and speed up the work for those farmers who had to cart their crops over distances.

It is not correct that petrol was refused to farmers who own motor vehicles for essential work this season. Applications from farmers for additional facilities over and above the basic petrol issues are treated on their merits and supplementary petrol allowances are granted where the circumstances are such as to justify them.

asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will increase the petrol allocation to hackney car owners by 100 per cent. during the period of the bus strike.

The supplies of petrol reaching this country are still on a restricted basis. I found it possible to provide out of savings resulting from the stoppage of bus services an increase of 25 per cent., approximately, in the petrol allowances for September for recognised hackney vehicles in areas outside Dublin County Borough. I have decided to grant a similar increase for October but this is the maximum that can be made available in present circumstances.