I move:
That the Customs Duties (Bedsteads and Furniture) (Provisional Variation) Order, 1932, which was made on the 2nd day of May, 1932, by the Executive Council under Section 1 of the Customs Duties (Provisional Imposition) Act, 1931 (No. 38 of 1931) and a copy of which was laid on the Table of Dáil Eireann on the 4th day of April, 1932, be approved.
In April, 1925, there was imposed upon furniture imported into this State a customs duty of 33? per cent. The first result of the imposition of the duty was that the furniture-making industry made very rapid progress here. The numbers of firms engaged in it increased from 16 to over 100, and the number of workers employed, on the basis of full-time employment, rose from 310 to 1,545 in September of last year. The progress made by the industry was all the more remarkable in view of a certain prejudice which existed on the part of certain large retailers in the State against home-produced furniture. The Department of Industry and Commerce, under the late administration, on several occasions, made representation to those large retail houses with a view to inducing them to place more of their orders with Saorstát firms. As a result of continuous representation of that kind the position eased somewhat. But considerable importation of furniture, despite the duty, prevailed, the value of such imports last year being £109,000. The existing industry is of course quite competent to supply all the reasonable requirements of the country. But prices had been falling continuously. The general position is that the factories are almost, if not entirely, in a position to produce furniture at the same price as the much larger factories in England which have the advantage of a much larger market available for them. That is a very creditable achievement in view of the short period in which the industry has been given an opportunity of development.
There is one firm which has reached the point of building up a substantial export trade in certain classes of furniture. The industry is one which it is very desirable to assist and develop because of the nature of the employment given. The average wages for a skilled worker in the trade is over £4 a week and there is the opportunity provided in the industry by which young people can become apprenticed to a skilled trade that will give them an opportunity to secure their livelihood in after life.
Unfortunately, however, there are a number of foreign firms which have recently begun operating in the industry, and which are not observing the prevailing standard in respect of hours of labour and wages of workers. While that is a matter of course primarily to be dealt with by the trade union and the employers' organisations concerned, it is giving the Department of Industry and Commerce some concern, and it may be necessary to take action in the matter if the position is not remedied. The design in increasing the duty was to secure for the factories here the remaining part of the market for this State. The duty will be effective to that end and a fair amount of additional employment will be given in consequence. And the ability of the factories to improve their methods, and to reduce their prices and possibly to build up an export trade in a certain specialised class of furniture will be increased.
As far as the need for acting by Provisional Order is concerned, the situation developed that some abnormal importations of furniture were reported, and there was reason to believe that if the duty was not imposed by Provisional Order on the date it was imposed large stocks of furniture would be brought in which would have held up the development of the industry, and, in fact, cause unemployment in some of the existing factories for some months to come. The Executive Council, therefore, on my recommendation, decided to act by Provisional Order, and this Resolution asks the Dáil to approve of the duties imposed by that Provisional Order.