asked the Taoiseach if he will state the approximate total population which would be supported by all the food produced in the country, basing the calculation on present agricultural output and standards of living.

It is not possible to give the particulars requested by the Deputy since the pattern of food exports differs fundamentally from the pattern of food items retained for domestic consumption and because domestic consumption also includes various imported foodstuffs. An estimate of the proportion of agricultural output which is exported can however be made. For the year 1960, the latest period for which detailed particulars are available, it is estimated that the value at agricultural prices of the principal exports of food items (including the estimated agricultural content of processed foodstuffs) was 37.5 per cent. of the value at agricultural prices of the total output of food items produced in that year.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary not give me even a rough figure?

The Deputy may infer from the reply the calculation he is seeking.