§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will open negotiations with the EEC Commission to explore what national aid could be given to the Northern Ireland milk producers, within EEC regulations, in order to secure for them the parity in income with their Great Britain counterparts, attained formerly under the milk aid scheme, whereby Northern Ireland's lower share of the lucrative liquid market in comparison to Great Britain's was overcome by financial aid.
§ Mr. Giles ShawBecause of the overriding importance of containing public expenditure it has not been possible to allocate funds for the purpose of paying aid to Northern Ireland milk producers in 1980–81. For this reason there would be no point in discussing with EEC Commission the question of approval for payment of a national aid.