asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of price increases since the budget; the items concerned; and the amount of the increase in each case.

The number of price increases in the period from the date of the budget, 26th January, 1977 to 11th March, 1977, recommended by the National Prices Commission and accepted by me was 77.

As the remainder of the information sought by the Deputy is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to have copies circulated with the Official Report.

Following is the statement:

Can the Parliamentary Secretary indicate the dates on which he became aware of the impending increases?

That information was not sought in the question but, if the Deputy wishes, I am sure it can be provided by way of letting him have the dates of the decisions in respect of each case.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary accept that it is more than likely that the Minister was aware before the budget of most of these increases?

I would not accept that.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary saying that so far as the Department are concerned there was no indication prior to the budget of these impending increases?

It can be said that one can anticipate increases being sought in respect of a number of products even before application has been made by the producer. In that sense the Department in their normal surveillance of the general situation in relation to prices might be said to be aware of the product in respect of which increases are likely to be sought. However I do not think it would be accurate to say that the Department were aware specifically of the increases in this case at the time of the budget. Obviously they would have been aware of some of them.

So they were aware of some of them?

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that it is on the record of the House that information in respect of many of the increases referred to in the report of the NPC— March edition—was available by 6th January last to the Minister for Industry and Commerce? I am speaking specifically of the increases in respect of RTE, CIE and the ESB.

In regard to the question that was tabled by Deputy Dowling, many of the increases concerned were in respect of relatively small industries or service operations. While, in the absence of a specific question, I am not in a position to comment either on the statement referred to by Deputy Collins or on the instances to which he refers, it is likely that the information was not available before the date of the budget in respect of many of the increases that are listed.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that in respect of the recent price increases granted to CIE, RTE and the ESB the recommendations for approval were with the Minister for Industry and Commerce on January 6th but were suppressed deliberately by the Government at the time of the budget?

That question has been posed already.

I suggest that, if the Deputy wishes to know the dates on which applications for increases in these instances were submitted, he should table a question to that effect. However, I would point out that in the normal way the Minister does not become aware of increases—at least not in his personal capacity, whatever about his departmental officials—until such time as the applications have been processed by the NPC and submitted for approval. The Minister would not become aware of every application for a price increase.

What I am trying to say——

We must have finality on this question.

——is that the NPC had dealt with the applications for the increases to which I have referred, that their recommendations that the increases be approved were on the Minister's desk on 6th January but that the Minister delayed action deliberately until after the budget.

That point has been made adequately.

If the Deputy wishes to pursue this matter he should do so by way of a separate question.

It is incorporated in the question before us.