I am sure that the Secretary of State is aware of the Crisis in the Livestock Sector.

With the 1974 Crisis in the Livestock Sector, the collapse in confidence amongst farmers, a poor hay harvest, and a shortage of fodder and capital, the price of suckled calves dropped to a very low ebb and margins fell by nearly 40 per cent.

Last week, the Midland bank report forecast a one eighth drop in the profitability of the agriculture industry as a whole - but that disguises a much deeper Crisis in the Livestock Sector, as the industry is bolstered by a relatively happy situation in the cereal sector.

Does the Minister acknowledge that we now have a major Crisis in the Livestock Sector?

Given the Crisis in the Livestock Sector, why have not the Government drawn down the full amount of compensation?