asked the Minister for Defence if he is aware of representations being made by the Irish African friendship committee regarding the supply of surplus Army trucks to aid famine relief; whether any such trucks could be made available from Irish Army surplus stocks; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I am aware of the representations mentioned by the Deputy. The position is that no surplus stock of military vehicles is held. Vehicles are retained in use until they are beyond economic repair and are then disposed of by public auction.

Such vehicles would not, obviously, be suitable for use in famine relief.

Can the Minister visualise Ireland at any stage making some military stocks available to assist in transportation? Will the Minister give further consideration to having logistic experts available to aid the deployment of famine relief stock when they arrive in the different famine stricken countries as part of our national contribution?

Deployment and ensuring that aid reaches its destination at the correct time are different questions. In relation to the availability of surplus stock I should like to state that for a variety of reasons, mainly financial, we do not have surplus stock.

I am referring to some of the regular Army stock. The Army got some nice new stock recently.

It is a question of fulfilling our constitutional duty at home first. A policy decision to divert some of that stock elsewhere, such as to the Third World, would be a matter for the Government of the day.