asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he is aware that the rigid enforcement of the tillage regulations is adversely affecting dairy farmers who send their milk to the creameries in County Sligo; that the compulsory tillage regulations contribute to the fall in the cow population in that county; and if he will consider, in the case of such dairy farmers, a reduction in the tillage quota for the coming season.

The reply to the first two parts of the question is in the negative. As regards the last part, it is not possible, in view of the present world shortage of foodstuffs and the extent to which this country is dependent on imported supplies of food, to consider any abatement of the tillage obligations of any class of dairy farmer.