The sub-section of the Bill to which I have tabled an amendment relates to the licensing of petrol pumps which do not qualify for a certificate under the Bill. I take it that the purpose of the sub-section is to ensure that there will be in the shortest possible time a uniform instrument for the sale of petrol throughout the country, and the infliction of the least amount of hardship on the traders concerned. In other words, it is sought to arrive at a balance between the interests of motorists who use the petrol on the one hand, and on the other the traders who sell the petrol. In considering this we have to take into consideration, as the Minister said on the Second Reading of the Bill, that 18,000,000 gallons of petrol were sold in this country last year, the greater proportion of which, I think, was sold through the medium of instruments known as petrol pumps, of which there are 1,392 in the country. Of the 1,392, 825 without alteration were eligible for a certificate under the Bill, and that 523 of the remainder, even with alterations, could not be brought under the Bill, in so far as they would not be eligible for a certificate. In the case of these 523 pumps the principle of their construction is such that the Minister under the Bill could not give them a certificate to the effect that they were proper measuring instruments for the sale of petrol.
We must remember that if these pumps are inaccurate, as they are, the inaccuracy is bound to be in favour of the trader, and not in favour of the motorist. If the inaccuracy is the other way round the trader is going to get rid of his pump as quickly as possible, because he is losing on it. If he finds that he is gaining, as he is gaining, it is the motorists who buy petrol will be the losers. The suggestion in the Bill is to provide that these inaccurate pumps will be licensed for the sale of petrol for a period. The question of hardship comes in when the length of the period during which the licence will operate is taken into consideration. As I said, it should be the object of the Dáil to strike a balance between the good of the community, which would undoubtedly be served by having standard instruments of measure throughout the country, and a certificate from the Department of Industry and Commerce as to accuracy, and the desire not to inflict hardship on traders who bought pumps at a time when they were considered quite in order and suitable for trade in this country. The suggestion contained in my amendment is that the licences to be granted to these inaccurate pumps should not be for a period longer than two years. There are 523 pumps according to the Minister in this category. A number of these were sold to traders by oil companies, whose oil is sold in the pumps, on the instalment system, the instalments being so arranged that they were in fact little more than rent. The oil companies would still be anxious to facilitate the sale of their oil after the Bill comes into operation, and would be fairly certain to take care that pumps, if condemned, would be replaced so as to ensure that there would be no reduction in the amount of their oil sold. There are traders who bought these pumps outright and own them, and it is with them we should concern ourselves to ensure that they would not be put to any undue loss. We must keep in mind the fact that the pumps are inaccurate, that a man who pays for a gallon of petrol from these pumps is not getting a gallon, and that the trader is making a profit which he is not entitled to make. At the same time we do not want to close down the traders' pump completely and put him to the loss of the price he paid for it.
We suggest that a two years' period should be the maximum for the good of the community that should be given for seeing that proper measures are being used, and the interests of the trader can be balanced on that basis, that within two years after the passing of this Bill, which will be within two and a half years after the most recent of these pumps has been bought, they should either be shut down altogether or completely rebuilt in such a manner as to bring them within the terms of the Bill and to entitle them to get certificates.
The Minister stated on the Committee Stage that he would give us information on the Report Stage regarding the number of pumps concerned and the different types. The normal life of a pump is undoubtedly longer than two years, and there are different classes of these pumps in operation, some of which might be near enough to accuracy to make the alterations required very small. These are undoubtedly the pumps that would be altered as soon as the Bill comes into operation, and they can get certificates. I ask the Dáil to bear this in mind, that it is pumps that cannot be altered to make them sufficiently accurate to come under the Bill that it is proposed to licence, and it is these inaccurate pumps that we suggest should not be allowed to be used for the sale of petrol for a longer period than two years. I would be glad, however, to hear what the Minister has to say on the matter, particularly as to the number of types of pumps concerned, so that I could see the idea behind the amendment that he proposes, that the maximum period should be such as, either generally or specifically, might be prescribed by him by regulation. It is for the Dáil to say whether there should not be an overriding period. We think that in the case of pumps that are hopelessly inaccurate and that undoubtedly defraud the consumer every time he buys petrol, the period should be less than two years. We have no objection if the Minister wants to reduce it, but we think that two years should be the longest period for which these inaccurate pumps should be allowed to operate.