asked the Minister for Labour the estimated number of man-days lost due to labour disputes to date in 1979 and the actual figure for the three worst previous years.

The Central Statistics Office is the offical source of statistics relating to man-days lost due to industrial disputes. Statistics are not yet available from that office in relation to disputes which took place during 1979. My Department estimates, however, that approximately 1,352,000 man-days were lost through industrial disputes during the first nine months of 1979 1,118,000 of which were accounted for by the postal dispute.

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I am circulating, for inclusion in the official report, a table giving the figures for each year since 1923.

What was the worst figure in the past ten years?

The worst year was 1970.

In view of the fact that in the first nine months of this year 1.3 million man-days were lost does the Minister not consider that that is the arithmetic of failure and that he should be ashamed that this has happened under him as Minister for Labour? What does he propose to do in an effort to reduce the number of man-days lost in the future?

The Deputy is going into matters he should not go into.

The Minister for Labour is not the only one responsible but I want to know what he is going to do to reduce this terrible figure which has been reached under his regime?

That is the usual sort of stuff that can be expected from Deputy Mitchell.

The country will expect more than a peremptory reply on this matter.

Order, please.