asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy the total amount of public money invested in the Irish National Trading Corporation; the total amount of such money written off as a result of the closure of that organisation; and if he will make a statement generally on the affair.

The Irish National Trading Corporation is a private limited company in which the State has a minority share holding. The Deputy will no doubt appreciate that it would be most inappropriate for me, at this stage, particularly having regard to the public references to possible legal proceedings to add anything to the statement of the corporation's press release of 12 January, 1978, that the directors had decided to cease trading.

I appreciate the point about legal procedings, but if we could get away from that for a moment, perhaps the Minister would tell us whether he and his Minister are considering sympathetically the situation of the very highly qualified senior staff which this corporation had recruited and many of whom are half way through their careers? Has the situation been considered in which they have been left in consequence of a state of affairs to which they did not contribute in any way?

I understand the Deputy's concern, but the question he has put to me relates to that very item that bears directly on possible legal action.

It bears on the case.

Consequently, it would be inappropriate to refer to it. The board are facing legal action on behalf of the staff.

I appreciate that, but I would draw the Minister's attention to the human dimension of the situation and would ask him whether the Department, either in handling the case or, perhaps, in settling it, will keep in their minds the human dimension which is serious for the relatively small number of senior people involved?

This Government are always conscious of and sympathetic towards the human element, but it would not be appropriate to go into any further detail on the matter.