asked the Minister for Energy the reason no petrol supplies were made available to a garage (details supplied) in County Meath during the petrol strike, although it was a designated garage; and in view of the damages caused to the trade of the garage as a result, the action he proposes to take to compensate the proprietor.

: I have inquired into the circumstances which gave rise to the failure to make a delivery to this particular designated station. While it would be inappropriate of me to go into precise details of this particular case. I am satisfied that the failure to make a delivery was due to a combination of circumstances which were almost bound to arise in isolated cases, given the emergency nature of the operations.

I am sure it will be appreciated in the House and elsewhere that the detailed organisation and scheduling of deliveries by the Defence Forces, in rapidly changing circumstances, was a most difficult and complex task which they performed with admirable efficiency. The fact that there were a few instances where deliveries were frustrated by operational problems was only to be expected.

I am also sure it will be appreciated that given the scale of the demand for petrol deliveries which existed country-wide at the time the emergency supply arrangements were introduced by the Defence Forces, there could be no absolute assurance of deliveries to any one station at a particular time.

While I regret very much the inconvenience caused in this instance I cannot accept that a case exists for the payment of compensation.

In response to direct inquiries of my Department by the party concerned, the circumstances in which the failure to make a delivery arose have since been explained to him and he fully understands the difficulties which obtained at the time in scheduling deliveries.

: This petrol station was taken over by somebody two years ago and has built up a trade in a farming area which is not near a town. It was listed as a designated station in the newspapers but got no petrol at all during the strike despite the fact that non-designated stations in the same area were given petrol. When the person made inquiries, as directed by the Department, to the oil company who normally supply petrol to him he was told that the Army had drawn his quota of petrol. Would the Minister explain how that person can convince people who saw on the newspapers that his was a designated station and who heard the statement made by the Minister's Department that all designated stations had got their first supply and were getting their second, that he got none? As a result of this he has lost almost his complete trade and will have to start from scratch again. Would the Minister agree that there was bungling by someone? Since the Minister's Department were responsible for the administration of it surely he should consider giving some compensation to the person concerned.

: I do not consider that compensation should be payable in such circumstances. I regret very much the difficulty with which this man was faced. As I have said, I think that when he made his own inquiries with the Department and the unfortunate combination of circumstances was explained to him he understood what had happened. However, much as I regret the inconvenience caused to this man, there would seem to have been very widespread misunderstanding particularly on the part of a number of Deputies on all sides of the House that the scheme was being operated for the benefit of garage owners. It was not. It was being operated for the benefit of the general public and garage owners were being used for that purpose. Of necessity, some garage owners suffered and some perhaps gained from it but the object of the exercise was not to help garage owners.

: Surely the Minister would agree that that statement does not come out too well when you remember that a number of garage owners in the area whose politics are well known got a supply of petrol and that petrol tanks with a supply of petrol passed along this road for garages on more than one occasion and one of the scheduled stations in his area was asked if they could take 10,000 gallons extra and they could not, while this man had a tank for 10,000 gallons and he could not get a drop of petrol. Surely there is something screwy about the whole thing. I do not know who told the Minister that the man was satisfied with the explanation he got. He got very little explanation from a very courteous civil servant following my question going down to the Minister but before that nobody wanted to talk to him. The Minister might have a look at the whole case because I am sure he will agree that the man was treated very badly. He should be compensated even though some of the people the Minister referred to did very well out of the petrol strike.

: I do not think that I can usefully add anything to what I have said except that firstly my information does not quite conform with that given by Deputy Tully in regard to this man's approach to my Department. Secondly, I refute fully any suggestion by Deputy Tully that distribution of petrol was being made on the basis of politics.

: Oh yes it was.

: Wait a moment, Deputy until I have finished. There were representations from Deputies on all sides of the House and Deputies on all sides of the House were complaining that petrol was being delivered on a political basis. The Deputy might consider talking to some of the Deputies opposite about friends of theirs.

: Question No. 18.

: The Minister will—

: And meet on all sides with Fianna Fáil.

: The Deputy heard what I said.