asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of factory closures, the number of companies which went into liquidation and the number of companies put into receivership in the first six months of 1986.

(Limerick East): My Department have no responsibility for the collation of official statistics on factory closures nor do the Central Statistics Office provide such figures.

Manufacturing concerns are under no obligation to notify my Department when they cease production. However, the Industrial Development Authority carry out an employment survey in November each year from which it is possible to establish the number of factory closures in that year. I have been informed by the Industrial Development Authority that the 1986 figures will not be available until January 1987.

In the first six months of 1986 the Registrar of Companies was notified of the appointment of liquidators in respect of 384 companies and of 58 companies put into receivership.

In view of the continuing job losses in manufacturing industry over the past four years and the consequent job losses in the services sector will the Minister indicate the proposals, if any, he may be considering? I put down a question asking "which are being considered by the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Job Creation to redress the situation". The reply I received to my question was that the Minister has no official responsibility to the Dáil in relation to this matter. Could I now ask the Minister what proposals he has, if any, to arrest the loss of Jobs in manufacturing industry and the services sector over the past four years?

(Limerick East): I have replied in detail to the three elements of the question put down by the Deputy. If now he has decided that it is different information to a different question he requires, he should put down a different question.

With all due respects to the Minister, I did put down the question but the answer I was given was that the Minister has no responsibility to the Dáil in relation to job creation and what proposals the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Job Creation have given. It is a very serious matter that the Minister has no responsibility on anything that is going on in the Cabinet Sub-Committee——

The Deputy should not refer to a decision of the Chair and an explanation given by the Chair.

I have no wish to show any disrespect to any of your rulings.

I am advising the Deputy of what the position is.

I accept your advice unreservedly. The continuing loss of jobs as outlined by the Minister in the figures he has given must be the cause of some concern for all of us and I am asking the Minister what proposals he has, if any, to redress that situation?

That is a separate question.

Can the Minister give the House any idea as to the reasons for such a massive number of liquidations and closures, the total number of jobs lost and if he has any details as to whether it was the Revenue Commissioners or the banks who were responsible for the closures? Surely, he should have that information.

(Limerick East): It is very difficult to relate liquidations or receiverships to job losses. It does not necessarily follow that because you have a large number of liquidations that you have a large number of job losses. In 1983, there were 522 liquidations; in 1984, 584 and in 1985, 632. In that context, 384 liquidations to date this year is not a massive number of liquidations.

Of course, it is.

(Limerick East): There were 136 receiverships in 1983; 112 in 1984; 165 in 1985 and 58 so far in 1986. Therefore, it does not bear out the conclusions the Deputy draws. I would like to point out that in the United States whose economy is very buoyant at present they have never had as many liquidations. It does not necessarily follow that an economy is going down when you have liquidations. Very often, when people are trying to establish new businesses there are many liquidations.

I will allow Deputy MacSharry one final question.

As the Minister responsible for industrial promotion and for employment——

A question Deputy.

——he must be in a position to inform the House from any objective assessment he has done as to what are the continuing reasons for the huge job losses, closures and liquidations. He must have some reasons or else he is not doing the job he is intended to do.

That seems to be a separate question.

It is relevant to the question.

It may flow from this question but it is a separate one.

We want to know the information. The Minister who is responsible is in the House and he should tell us what is the position or is this going to continue?

(Limerick East): If the Deputy wants on one of his frequent visits from Europe to put down a question I will answer it.

Enough of the cynicism.

The Minister should answer what he is supposed to.

(Limerick East): I do not think it is courteous to other Deputies that the Deputy should piggy back on somebody else's question.

I must move on. I am not going to allow——

You are the man responsible for order in this House——

I am trying to maintain that order.

Would you inform the Minister that every Deputy in this House has the same rights to ask questions. For his information he is not too long in it but he seems to know an awful lot about nothing.

(Limerick East): If the Deputy puts down a question about this matter I will answer it.

I am passing on to the next question and I will not listen to any Member.

The reason the Minister does not answer the question is that he is responsible for many of the blunders.