asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he can state the number of workers engaged in each industry which has been protected by import tariffs in the Saorstát for the years: 1923, 1922, 1921, 1920, 1919, 1918, 1917, and 1916.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - WORKERS IN PROTECTED INDUSTRIES.
I find, on examination, that there are no figures available for any of the years mentioned in the question. The figures which I have from time to time given to the Dáil to show the effect of tariffs on employment were specially collected for that purpose from the establishments engaged in the production of those articles to which tariffs have been applied. It will be appreciated that tariffs apply, not to industries but to particular commodities. Of two establishments in the same industry, for instance the woollen industry, one may be engaged wholly or partially on the production of the tariffed commodity, blankets; the other may not be producing any tariffed article at all.
Until the adoption of tariffs by the Saorstát, there was no occasion to collect figures relating to employment in the production of particular commodities. Such figures as were compiled in regard to employment were based either on classified industries or on classified occupations, and, for the reasons I have given, would therefore be of no use for the Deputy's purpose.