asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state (1) the number of persons employed in the woollen mills of the Saorstát before the imposition of the recent tariffs on woollens and worsteds; (2) how many woollen workers, if any, have been placed on the unemployed list since the imposition of the tariff, and from which mills have these persons been discharged; and (3) what steps he proposes to take to revive the Irish wool spinning and worsted spinning industry which formerly gave large numbers of operatives employment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Saorstát Woollen Industry.
(1) The number of persons employed in woollen mills in Saorstát Eireann before the imposition of the recent tariffs on woollens and worsteds was 2,079.
(2) The number of woollen workers who have registered as unemployed since the imposition of these tariffs is 286. These workers have been discharged from the following mills:— Messrs. Mahony Bros., Cork; Messrs. O'Brien, Bros., Cork; Athlone Woollen Mills; Foxford Woollen Mills; Messrs. Mulcahy, Redmond & Co., Cahir; Avoca Woollen Mills. Of these, 170 have since become re-employed, and it is anticipated that with the opening of the new buying season and the clearance of stocks imported prior to the imposition of the increased duty and remaining on traders' hands, a substantial increase in the number of persons employed in this industry will take place.
I am in consultation with the woollen and worsted manufacturers on the subject of the revival of the Irish wool and worsted spinning industry.