6. Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of bacon pigs and beef cattle smuggled out of Northern Ireland in each of the last three months; and what steps are being taken to reduce the number.
§ The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Stanley Orme)It is obviously not possible to estimate illegal movements with precision. However, the numbers of animals moved illegally over the first three months of the year may have amounted to some 15,000 in the case of cattle and 60,000 in the case of pigs. With permission, I will circulate in the Official Report details of an estimate by months.
On 11th April it was announced that £360,000 is to be made available to the Northern Ireland pig processing industry to maintain throughput and thus employment. Further measures which might be expected to reduce illegal movements are being considered.
Mr. RossDoes the right hon. Gentleman recognise that we very much welcome the grant that has been made to the Northern Ireland bacon factories, which will enable them to compete on equal terms, but does he also realise that the 644 Eire authorities deny that any smuggling is taking place? Has he any comment to make on that?
§ Following is the information:
| ESTIMATED ILLEGAL MOVEMENTS OF CATTLE AND PIGS | ||
| 1975 | Cattle | Pigs |
| January | 5,600 | 23,000 |
| February | 7,500 | 18,000 |
| March | 2,000 | 19,000 |
| Total | 15,100 | 60,000 |