I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. This is a very simple Bill which provides for the continuance, with the aid of a Government subsidy, of the steamship service which is the only available regular service for the public transport of passengers and goods between the mainland and Aran. The service has been in operation for very many years, but owing to the limited amount of traffic available it has never proved a self-supporting proposition. To secure the continuance of the service it has been found necessary to subsidise it out of State funds, and the Galway Bay Steamboat Company has been in receipt of an annual subsidy of varying amounts since 1891. In 1926 the supervision of the service was transferred to the Department of Industry and Commerce, and since that time the Minister for Industry and Commerce has had to be satisfied that the subsidies were necessary, and those subsidies were provided annually by Votes of the Dáil. It is considered desirable now that there should be a definite agreement between the Minister and the company for the continuance of the service, and that the subsidisation should be placed on a more satisfactory basis. I should perhaps explain, before I give the details of this agreement, that there was originally a loan of £7,500 made by the old Congested Districts Board for the maintenance of this service, and that in 1912 one half of this loan was remitted. The remaining half of the loan was remitted in 1926 when the subsidisation of the service was placed in the charge of the Minister for Industry and Commerce. The remission of this liability of £3,700 roughly has been taken into consideration in determining the amount of the annual subsidy, which is limited under the terms of this Bill to £300 per annum.
The draft heads of the agreement which is being made between the company and the Minister provide that the company shall maintain the existing service of two regular sailings per week together with such occasional sailings as are necessary; that the vessel employed shall be maintained in good order and repair; that the charges for carriage shall be such as will most effectively tend to render the service self-supporting; that all requisite information and accounts as to the service shall be furnished to the Minister; that as the balance of the loan of £7,500 has now been remitted the "Dun Aengus" shall be surrendered to the Minister at the termination of the agreement; that a fixed subsidy at the rate of £300 per year shall be paid to the company; that in certain eventualities an additional subsidy shall be paid in respect of any necessary overhaul of the "Dun Aengus" costing more than £1,200; and finally, that the agreement shall continue in force until 31st December, 1936, and from year to year thereafter subject to termination on six months' notice by either party.
The Minister is advised that he has no statutory authority at present to conclude such an agreement if it is to be legally enforceable, and it is for that purpose that the present Bill has been brought before the Dáil. I have explained that the Vote for the amount of the subsidy will come before the Dáil and must be voted annually.