asked the Minister for Finance the reason the State laboratory does not publish survey analyses of feed raw materials and compound feeds annually in view of the fact that feed is the single largest input at farm level.

The State laboratory provides an analytical service to all Government Departments and offices. Feeding stuffs are analysed on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Food, the bulk of whose samples is submitted to the laboratory to ascertain their compliance with Irish and EC law.

The Minister for Agriculture and Food may initiate legal proceedings on the basis of the laboratory's analysis which may show that a particular sample is not in conformity with legislative requirements. In such circumstances, publication by the State laboratory of analyses which are carried out by them on behalf of a client, in this case the Department of Agriculture and Food, would not be appropriate.