(Limerick West) and Mr. N. Treacy asked the Minister for Agriculture the quantity of native barley in compound feeds at present, i.e. pigs, cattle, poultry.

Normally home grown barley represents about one-third of compound feedingstuffs but at this stage of the year, and in the light of the keen demand for feed in recent months, the proportion is appreciably lower. No precise figure is, however, available.

Does the Minister have proposals to increase the barley content?

No, I do not. This is a matter for the trade. It is up to the trade to devise new methods which may be required.

Would the Minister not accept that he has great responsibility in this matter and for that reason would he not consider proposals to ensure that more native barley is used for the benefit of the economy?

I have not got any such proposal. Maybe if I had I would but I have not. If I had proposals I would examine them, of course, but I have not.

Would the Minister agree that it is most important to extend farm grants for the erection of stores for home produced barley?

I fail to see how that is relevant.

That is a very separate question.

19.

(Limerick West) and Mr. H. Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture the number of prosecutions for compound feeds found under quality in 1982.

There were no prosecutions for breaches of feedingstuffs legislation in 1982.

Is the Minister satisfied because there were no prosecutions there were no breaches? Is the Department engaged in assessing this type of activity?

That is a separate question.

It is not.

I think it is.

For the sake of peace and quiet I do not mind replying to the Deputy. There are loopholes in present legislation involving prosecutions regarding the constitution of feedingstuffs. We are examining at the moment and have been for some time past ways of improving the regulations. In particular it is hoped to make new regulations under the European Communities Act, 1972, implementing the EEC farm regulations governing feedingstuffs. There is a technical difficulty in that the feedingstuffs have to be for sale and it is difficult to prove that. Samples are taken in the compounders' premises and it is difficult to prove that the feedingstuffs are for sale at that point. There is a technical difficulty at the moment that we are attempting to overcome.

Would the Minister not agree that he should pursue this matter as one of urgency because over the last number of years there has been considerable concern regarding various products and that there was not sufficient monitoring of the quality?

Yes, I am concerned about that and that is why we are pursuing the possibility of introducing new regulations.

20.

(Limerick West) and Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Agriculture the proposals his Department have to curtail the importation of poultrymeat in view of the financial crisis facing many poultry producers in the country.

Under EEC rules we cannot impose restrictions for economic reasons on trade with other member states. That is a trend running through a lot of questions in the last few weeks. We are in the EEC and cannot impose restriction on trade with other members. However, because of our high avian health status, imports of raw poultrymeat are allowed from only Northern Ireland and Denmark.

Substantial aid is, of course, available for the modernisation of poultry plants. In 1982 £1.38 million was made available through the IDA and FEOGA for these purposes and applications for double this amount are under consideration at present.

Would the Minister agree that when we are importing a third of our requirements of poultrymeat the situation is serious? He said that the two countries he mentioned are the prime source of imports. Would he agree in relation to at least one of them that the built-in aids to that industry militate against fair competition between imports and the home-produced commodity?

I agree with the last part of the Deputy's question. Regarding his initial statement, we do not import a third of our requirements of poultrymeat. We import 16 per cent, which amounts to about £8 million worth of poultrymeat.

The situation must have improved.

Of those imports 97 per cent come from Northern Ireland. In relation to the other part of the Deputy's question, yes, there is a considerable advantage to the North of Ireland producer in this field. However, much of it is due to the fact that this industry was highly developed before our accession to the EEC in 1973. They have far larger units and, therefore, are far more efficient producers. There are other benefits also. Energy, for instance, is considerably cheaper in the North and feeding stuff is also cheap. They have an advantage and that is a difficulty we must face up to.

In view of what the Minister said regarding aid to the industry, would he consider that the greatest help would be more poultry instructors to advise both commercial and family farm enterprises on the future of the poultry industry?

Certainly I would at all times encourage commercial poultry instructors and instructresses. We will have no cut-back whatsoever on that.

Could the Minister inform the House if his Department have made a conscious decision to withdraw from poultry production in various parts of the country?

My goodness, no. The development this year is exactly twice what it was last year in new units.

Could the Minister tell us the reasons for the closing down of the turkey unit in the agricultural college at Athenry?

That is news to me, but I will inquire into it.

Deputies are wandering very far from the question on the Order Paper.

The industry seems to be developing rather than contracting.

Has the Minister considered why feed should be cheaper in Northern Ireland, which is a total deficiency area for the production of cereals, when we are a surplus area? If this is a problem with the poultry industry it requires deep analysis.

It is one of the many things that require deep analysis and I am not an analyst. I understand that one of the main reasons is that there are only three milling concerns in Northern Ireland whereas we have quite a number in the Republic. They buy in bulk vast quantities of materials and this gives them a competitive edge over us.