Arising out of the Taoiseach's reply which was short and contained the phrase "a load of nonsense", I will put a question to the Taoiseach that has some sense in it and not as much nonsense as the Taoiseach seems to attach to the question of industry and employment. Realising the fact that the Government are now two years in office and that approximately £400 million worth of food products are being imported and allowing for the fact that we are a nation which can produce——

A question, please, Deputy.

I am asking a question. Given the proper incentives and encouragement by the Government, if they are capable of giving it, our balance of payments could be redressed by the development of import substitution employment.

The Deputy should ask a question.

I ask the Taoiseach when if ever the Government will, in the remaining time they have in power, deal with this matter and the increasing unemployment over which they have presided for the last two years? When will the Government act?

The Deputy is far outside the scope of a question.

Perhaps I am asking too many questions.

The Deputy should ask a question and not make a statement.

If the questions are unsuitable I regret that. Import substitution in the food industry is something the Government have fallen down on badly and it would be as well for them to go the whole way in falling and let a Fianna Fáil Government take over.

Hear, hear.

Given the heritage of uncompetitiveness left behind by the machinations of the last Government, it will be a long time before the people will want them back again. We have set out the road ahead for the next few years in the national plan.

Does the Taoiseach accept that food imports will be in excess of £900 million this year? Considering that three or four multiples, mostly foreign based, control up to 80 per cent of the food trade in the city and 50 per cent nationally, does he agree that we are virtually totally dependent for half the food consumed in the country on foreign sources? Does he not regard that as a crisis?

There would be problems in any country where the concentration of the marketing power was in very few hands. Our party recognise that and have been committed to taking some action in regard to that which will not at the same time risk increasing costs in the short term to the consumer. As regards the Deputy's figures I suggest they include all food imports including things which we could not easily produce here like wine, bananas and so on.

The bananas are coming home.

Having said that, it is a fact that a substantial level of imported foodstuffs could be produced here or are produced but we do not produce them competitively or market them well enough. This is a major target of Government policy: to create conditions in which unnecessary imports can be substituted by domestic production. The Deputy was right to identify that. As to the order of magnitude, it is less than a quarter of the figure he mentioned but it is still far too large for anyone's comfort.

We have been on this question for over 20 minutes.

It is a very important one.

It is very serious.