asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism if he will make a statement on the future of a company (details supplied) in Portlaw and Dungarvan, County Waterford; and if he is aware of the public concern about the future of its factories.

6.

asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism if his attention has been drawn to the continuing serious problems confronting the Irish tannery industry and the possibility of lay-offs at the leather factories at Dungarvan and Portlaw, County Waterford; and the action he proposes to take to assist the industry in its present difficulties.

: With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together.

I recognise that in view of the difficult circumstances which in recent years have confronted the tanning industry in Western Europe generally, a degree of public concern as to the future of the two factories mentioned could arise. Responsibility for the operation and well-being of the factories of the company concerned is primarily a matter for the directors and management. My Department, along with State agencies such as the Industrial Development Authority and Fóir Teoranta, are maintaining continuous contact with the company and are endeavouring to ensure that appropriate action is taken to promote continued operation and the maintenance of employment at the highest possible level.

: Are steps being taken to reduce, if not to end, the import of leather goods, particularly shoes, from third countries since such imports are the root cause of the problem we are talking of?

: So far as the company in question is concerned the main problem is the UK market to which the bulk of the company's sales has always gone. The greater part of third-country leather coming onto the UK market is from Brazil. I understand that the Commission have taken some steps to discourage the export of cheap leather from Brazil into the Community. The matter is not one on which we can take action unilaterally apart from making our views known to the Commission, in so far as these affect the UK market.

: In referring to third-country imports, I am talking in the context of leather goods imported into the EEC generally and that, of course, includes the UK. I would not agree that the present problem is being created totally by leather imports from Brazil. Rather, it is due largely to the importation of finished leather goods, including shoes, from the Far East in general and particularly from such countries as Taiwan and Hong Kong. I should like the Minister to take steps to stop these imports.

: There are controls and quotas imposed by the commission in respect of footwear from many low-cost Far Eastern countries. This is a matter that the Commission keep under review continuously. So far as our markets are concerned, more than 80 per cent of the imports are from the UK.

: In view of the continuing adverse trading situation of the company in question and having regard to their being subject to a situation of fluctuations in prosperity, would the Minister assure us that the relevant State agencies, particularly Fóir Teoranta, will continue to support the company during these bad times so that their survival will be ensured and that employment there will be protected?

: A great deal of support has been given in the past to the company by the agencies concerned and I am confident that that support will continue to be given in so far as possible.

7.