218 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the percentage increase in fruit and vegetables consumption following the promotion programme in 1995 on foot of the nutrition advisory group's report which indicated the lowest consumption in the EU. [11240/97]

I understand from An Bord Glas that research on this subject indicates that expenditure on vegetables by Irish consumers increased between 1995 and 1996 from £150.7 million to £153.94 million, i.e. an increase of more than 2 per cent.

On the fruit side, the only figures available relate to apples and berries. Expenditure on these items increased by almost £3 million or almost 9 per cent.