Mr Jim Nicholson: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the effect on Northern Ireland agriculture of the recent price agreement in Europe.
Mr Jim Nicholson: Is the Minister aware of the frustration and anger in Northern Ireland, especially among dairy producers, following the European price agreement? Is he further aware that the loss to Northern Ireland dairy producers is £30 million? What has happened to the 65,000 tonnes production allocated to Northern Ireland in the Brussels agreement? Who benefited from the disappearance of that allocation...
Mr Jim Nicholson: I wish to change the subject slightly and talk about how the proposals affect Northern Ireland. As has been said, the proposals create great problems for many parts of the United Kingdom, but nowhere do they create more problems than for those of us who come from Northern Ireland and have to make a living from agriculture. These proposals will not just affect agriculture but also Northern...
Mr Jim Nicholson: I have made clear my views about the Irish Republic. The Minister should consider the interdependence of the milk and beef sectors. How much worse will the position of the milk producer be if the price for calves drops substantially? We have heard that there has been a fall in cattle prices throughout the United Kingdom because of the uncertainty. If the price of what we call in Northern...
Mr Jim Nicholson: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the security situation in Norther Ireland.
Mr Jim Nicholson: s: What report can the Secretary of State make to the House on the fiasco of attempts to close cross-border crossings? Have these attempts now been abandoned in deference to representations made to him by the Irish ambassador?
Mr Jim Nicholson: The only argument I have with the Minister is that he seems to imply that in Northern Ireland only 3 in. of hard core might be put in, when in Great Britain 6 in. would be used, and that therefore inspection was not required in Great Britain. I do not necessarily disagree with the Minister. Perhaps a 100 per cent. inspection is the one sure way, but even with that, officials will not be 100...
Mr Jim Nicholson: I wish to draw to the attention of the House the anomaly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in respect of agricultural grants. The difference exists in two respects—prior notification and field inspection on claims for payment. Prior notification requires inspection at claim stage. One reason that was advanced for continuing the present system to my right hon. Friend the Member for...
Mr Jim Nicholson: In regard to what the hon. Member has said about the hon. Member for Belfast, West (Mr. Adams), a recent example has been the blowing up of the factory in Armagh city with the result that 175 people have been put on the dole in a town where there is terrible unemployment. The group responsible for that will say that it is fighting for people's rights, but it has taken that employment away. It...
Mr Jim Nicholson: Will the Minister join me in denouncing the serious act of wanton destruction in Armagh city in the early hours of Monday morning, which put the jobs of 200 people in my constituency at serious risk? Will he give an assurance that he will do everything in his power to—
Mr Jim Nicholson: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he proposes to implement to alleviate the problems facing the Northern Ireland pig industry.
Mr Jim Nicholson: I welcome the Minister's reply. Does he accept that after the serious decline in the number of pigs—there are now about half as many as there were 10 years ago—and as the industry plays an important role in Northern Ireland in providing employment on farms and in ancillary industries, he should give serious thought to advancing proposals to help alleviate the problem Northern Ireland...
Mr Jim Nicholson: I congratulate the Minister on his wise decision to allow the HLCA payments, but I press him to bear in mind the time that farmers have to wait until they know what they will get for any particular commodity in the future year, which seems to come later than normal year after year. This uncertainty is causing more alarm in agriculture and I should like to see an end to it.
Mr Jim Nicholson: The situation in Northern Ireland agriculture has been deteriorating in recent years. No hon. Member who has listened to the debate could doubt that. The two sectors suffering most since United Kingdom entry into the EEC are pigs and poultry. Farmers in Northern Ireland built a thriving intensive industry based on cheap grain imports from north America. The average farm in Northern Ireland is...
Mr Jim Nicholson: It may seem incongruous that these instruments are not made by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland also, but at the time of the parent Acts of 1967 and 1970, as I understand it, no such person existed. The Minister made orders for Northern Ireland also. It is, therefore, to him that I believe I am entitled to direct my remarks on the unhappy effects that the schemes will have on my...
Mr Jim Nicholson: I have no doubt that the right hon. Gentleman is aware that I represent the area under discussion. I could even be said to live in it. There are many who pontificate upon the area, and that perhaps exacerbates the troubles within it. If 25 company operations have taken place, I say to the Secretary of State that I have spoken to people who live in the border areas who have not seen a soldier...
Mr Jim Nicholson: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he is satisfied with security in South Armagh, since the atrocity at Mountain Lodge Pentecostal hall.
Mr Jim Nicholson: The security situation in my constituency is most serious, to say the least, with the murder of my friend and colleague, the chairman of Armagh district council, Mr. Charles Armstrong, and other murders of friends and neighbours at the Mountain Lodge pentecostal hall. Will the Secretary of State assure the House and my constituents that there will not be a further cosmetic exercise on...
Mr Jim Nicholson: rose—
Mr Jim Nicholson: The Government's decision to allow the importation of UHT milk into the United Kingdom will have serious and far-reaching effects on the milk industry for many years. It is hard enough to accept the importation of UHT milk, but, as the regulations also propose the importation of frozen pasteurised cream, they are unacceptable to me and to my colleagues. The British and Northern Ireland...
