asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state for each of the years 1932, 1933 and 1934 (estimated) and for an average year in the period 1925-1930 the amount of turf used in the Saorstát, and if he will also state for each of the said years the amount of turf used in premises occupied by (a) the Defence Forces, (b) the Gárda Síochána and (c) the other branches of the Civil Service; and if he will estimate for each of these years the average price received for the sale of turf.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Use of Turf.
It is estimated that the quantity of turf won in the year 1933 was approximately 3,494,000 tons. Sufficient information is not available to enable my Department to make estimates for the years 1932 and 1934. The average quantity drawn per annum in the years 1929 and 1930 is estimated at 3,413,000 tons. The quantity of turf used in premises occupied by the Defence Forces in the year 1932-33 was 622 tons; in the year 1933-34, 2,604 tons; in the year 1934-35 it is estimated that 9,429 tons will be used.
There are no figures available of the quantity of turf used in premises in the provinces occupied by the Gárda Síochána. In the Metropolitan district where turf was used in such premises, the quantity so used is included in the figures given in reply to (c) below. The quantity of turf used in premises occupied by Government Departments (other than premises occupied by the Defence Forces) and by the Gárda Síochána in the Metropolitan division was 338 tons in 1932-33 and 2,537 tons in 1933-34. It is estimated that in the year 1934-35 6,055 tons of turf will be used in these premises.
It is not possible, on the information available to my Department, to make a reliable estimate of the average price of turf in any of the years to which the Deputy refers.