asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware that in the terms of settlement by arbitration of a dispute with the Great Southern Railway Company shopmen at the Inchicore Works which arose on the terms of employment in 1929 the Railway Company undertook to expend £100,000 in shop extensions; if he will state whether representations have been made to his Department for a loan to carry out such undertaking, and what is the position regarding the matter, and if he will facilitate the Railway Company in carrying out their proposals in this matter as well as securing for the Company any necessary powers to enable them to execute orders for outside firms.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Loan for Railway Works, Inchicore.
The arbitration award in the dispute referred to in the question mentioned that the Great Southern Railways Company had stated its intention to expend a sum of £100,000 on its workshops, but an undertaking by the Company to expend that sum does not appear to have been a term of the settlement.
An application by the Company for a guarantee of a loan of £100,000 for this purpose has been under consideration for some time, but I am not yet satisfied that the application fulfils the conditions under which I would be justified in giving a guarantee.
Under Section 28 (1) (e) of the Road Transport Act, 1932, the Company now has the powers requisite for the purposes stated in the last part of the question.