andMr. Faulkner asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism the number of people employed in the manufacturing industry in Drogheda at (i) November 1982 and (ii) November 1983.

21.

asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism the number of people employed in the manufacturing industry in Dundalk at (i) November 1982 and (ii) November 1983.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 21 together.

The Central Statistics Office are the official Government agency with responsibility for collecting statistics including statistics on employment.

The Industrial Development Authority carry out annually a survey of manufacturing employment for their own internal planning purposes. These surveys showed that the number of people employed in manufacturing industry in Dundalk and Drogheda on the dates indicated were as follows:

If I recollect correctly, they are not the dates in respect of which I asked information. From the figures available in recent times it is obvious there has been a considerable decrease in the number of people employed in manufacturing in Dundalk and Drogheda. That is a strong indicator of how the local economy is faring. In Dundalk there are breweries and a cigarette manufacturing industry——

This is Question Time. If speeches are made it will make it quite intolerable.

I am coming to the question.

I know, but people take such a roundabout way of getting to the question and it takes up much time.

Will the Minister agree that the excessive level of taxation on cigarettes and on beer and spirits is having a significant effect in decreasing the demand for these items? This is working its way back to the source and it is having an effect on the people employed in the industries concerned. The footwear and textile industries have traditionally been labour-intensive. In Dundalk there is a long established tradition of skills in these areas——

I will have to be firm about this. I will not allow long statements to be made at Question Time.

I asked one question and I have another for the Minister. Because of the fall-off in demand, will the Minister not agree that the time is opportune for him as the person with direct responsibility for job creation to say to the Minister for Finance that the taxation measures are having a serious effect on our employment position? We have reached the stage of diminishing returns——

That is a matter for another Minister.

Will the Minister not agree that it is time to reverse the policies now being pursued?

It would not be appropriate for me to get involved in a discussion on taxation at Question Time. The Minister for Finance does not wish to have this high level of taxation. It has occurred only because of the deterioration in the country's finances over a relatively extended period, with which the Deputy will be familiar. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that I recognise — and have recognised during the past hour — that there is a serious unemployment problem in Dundalk and an unemployment problem of considerable magnitude in Drogheda.

Not to mention Ardee.

It is not as bad as in the two other cases.