I move the following:—
Before section 52, page 23, to insert a new section as follows:—
"On and after the first day of January, 1925, or such later date as may be fixed by the Minister, the settlement of the accounts of the receipts for all through traffic originating in or terminating in places in Saorstát Eireann in which two or more companies are interested shall be effected by and through the Irish Railway Clearing House."
I would like to point out to the Minister that at the present time all through rail, steam and canal traffic, originating in or terminating in Saorstát Eireann, is cleared by the Irish Railway Clearing House, with the following exceptions:—
Goods and Miscellaneous—G.S. and W. Company's traffic via Fishguard Port, whether via Cork, Rosslare; or Waterford.
Miscellaneous Traffic—D. and S.E. and L.M. and S., via Fishguard.
Goods and Miscellaneous Traffic— North of Ireland Traffic, via Larne and Stranraer.
Belfast, Derry and Drogheda Port Traffic.
Cork Port, via Fishguard.
Dublin Port (except Scotch traffic.)
Passenger Traffic—From G.W. and beyond to G.S. and W., via Rosslare and via Waterford.
M.G.W. Ry. with English Stations, via Holyhead (with minor exceptions).
There is no hard and fast law or rule defining whether traffic shall be cleared in the Irish House or the English House. It is largely a matter of arrangement. However, the Clearing Act (Ireland), 1860, empowers the Irish Railway Clearing House to deal with all railway, canal, and steam-packet traffic, while the English Clearing Act, 1850, only empowers the English Clearing House to deal with rail traffic.
The result is that shipping companies who desire to have their receipts out of through rail and sea traffic properly apportioned by the English House, can only have this done through a railway company. For instance, no payments out of through receipts are made direct to a shipping company by the English House. They are made to one of the railway companies interested in the division, and paid over by them to the shipping company. This is a device which has been resorted to in order to nominally comply with the Act.
It is alleged that the railway traffic mentioned above, which is at present dealt with by the English House, was lost to the Irish House through the carelessness of a previous secretary, who was actually offered the traffic, but let it go by default to the English House. As the Acts now stand, the Irish Railway Clearing House is the proper channel for the clearance of all Irish traffic, whether by rail or steamer. Above all, it is desirable that any through traffic dealt with by the new amalgamated company should be cleared in the Irish Clearing House. At present about ninety per cent. of the total Irish railway traffic, whether to or from Ireland, is thus dealt with.
It is also urged that the Irish Port Traffic should be similarly dealt with, seeing that the Irish House has statutory authority to deal with this sort of traffic, while the English House has no such right except by the artifice referred to above. From a statistical point of view it is desirable that the Irish House should clear the traffic, as there would thus be placed at the disposal of the Government statistical material regarding trade that would not otherwise be available.
The additional work given to the Clearing House would help very largely to absorb the redundant staff created by the reduction in the number of Irish railway companies, and thus effect a considerable saving by way of compensation. It would be probably thrown on the amalgamated company in other circumstances.