asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state how many of the 100 new factories stated by him in the Dáil on the 24th May last to have been established during the last two years have been established in (a) the Irish-speaking districts; (b) the partly Irish-speaking districts in each of the counties of (1) Donegal, (2) Mayo, (3) Galway, (4) Clare, (5) Kerry, (6) Cork, and (7) Waterford; the nature of the articles manufactured or the work carried on in each such district; the number of such new factories established in each such district in each manufacturing group; and the total employment thus given in each manufacturing group in each district.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Situation of New Factories.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state how many of the 300 smaller factories and workshops stated by him in the Dáil on the 24th May last to have been established during the last two years have been established in (a) the Irish-speaking districts; (b) the partly Irish-speaking districts in each of the counties of (1) Donegal, (2) Mayo, (3) Galway, (4) Clare, (5) Kerry, (6) Cork, and (7) Waterford; the nature of the articles manufactured or the work carried on in each such district; the number of such smaller factories and workshops established in each such district in each manufacturing group; and the total employment thus given in each manufacturing group in each district.
I propose to deal with both questions together. The answer is in the negative, for the reasons indicated to the Deputy in the reply of the 7th instant to an analogous question.
Does that mean that none of those factories has been established, or none of those workshops has been established in either the Irish speaking districts or the partly Irish speaking districts of those counties?
No.
Will the Minister say what exactly it does mean? Does it simply mean that he is not going to give the information asked for?
It means that the preparation of the returns giving the details as required would involve an amount of time and trouble which, in view of the present pressure of work in the Department, would be unwarranted.
Is the Minister aware that he stated that the number of new factories set up during the last two years is 100? Will the Minister say, considering the important bearing this has upon the safeguarding and retention of the Irish language in the Irish speaking districts, what appalling amount of trouble it would be to look at those 100 factories and say how many of them are in the Irish speaking districts of those different counties, and how many are in the partly Irish speaking districts?
The preparation of returns of that nature by officers of the Department, who are at present busily engaged upon other work, would involve an amount of trouble which I do not think the value of the information would warrant, particularly having regard to the fact that detailed returns in relation to these matters are published regularly both from the statistics Department, in the form of a census return, and the trade and industries branch, in the form of a trade directory, which will be available shortly.
Will the Minister say in which particular one of those publications the position of industry in the Irish speaking districts, or the position of industry in the partly Irish speaking districts has been dealt with, or is proposed to be dealt with?
There has been none published up to the present.
Is not the Minister simply hiding the fact that he would have to present a schedule of noughts as far as the Irish speaking districts are concerned, and a very dubious kind of figure in regard to the other districts?
You are always saying that.
Can he not say something?