asked the Minister for External Affairs if he intends to address the United Nations Conference on Trade at present being held at Geneva.

In our view, the work of the United Nations Trade and Development Conference can best be carried out in the Specialised Committees which the Conference has set up for this purpose. There are five such Committees dealing with the following subjects:—

(1) International Commodity Problems.

(2) Trade in Manufactures and semi-Manufactures.

(3) Improvement of the invisible trade of developing countries and financing foreign expansion of international trade.

(4) Institutional arrangements, methods and machinery to implement measures relating to the expansion of international trade.

(5) Expansion of international trade and its significance for economic development and implications of regional economic groupings.

The Irish delegation is led by our Ambassador to Switzerland and includes representatives of the Departments of External Affairs, Finance, Industry and Commerce and Agriculture. We have a seat on each of the five main committees. I did not consider it necessary to take part in the general debate which occupied the first two weeks of the conference, as the practical outcome of the conference will depend on the work of the committees.