I move:
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £424,900 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1938, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí Oifig an Aire Talmhaíochta agus seirbhísí áirithe atá fé riaradh na hOifige sin, maraon le hIldeontaisí-i-gCabhair.
That a sum not exceeding £424,900 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1938, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Agriculture and of certain services administered by that Office, including sundry grants-in-aid.
The Estimate provides for a net increase in payments of £157,209, as compared with the year 1936-37. There is an increase under Appropriations-in-Aid of £185,469, as compared with 1936-37, making a net decrease in this year's Estimate as compared with that of the previous year of £28,260. There are certain increases under some sub-heads on which I would like to say a few words. Under sub-head F (1), Agricultural Schools and Farms, there is an increase of £1,178. This increase is mostly due to normal increments of salaries. That refers to the staffing of the schools under the Department. Under sub-head F (3), Veterinary College, there is an increase of £3,215. Here again there was reorganisation of the veterinary staff last October. The full details of the salaries paid in the last financial year and the salaries that are due to be paid in this financial year will be found in the Estimates. The college is very much better staffed now. There is also an increase in sub-head G (1), Improvement of Milk Production, of £1,536. The increase is due to an increased number of cows, the property of members of the Cow Testing Associations. There is a slight increase in the number of cows coming under the tests of these associations. The big increase was from April and September in 1933, to April and September in 1936. We found that there was an increase from April, 1933, to April, 1936, of over 3,000 cows, and from September, 1933, to September, 1936, of something like 1,000 cows. Under sub-head G (2), Improvement of Live Stock, there is an increase of £39,005. That increased Estimate is to provide for putting into operation certain recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Horse Breeding Industry. I shall deal with that matter more fully at a later stage.
Under sub-head H, Grants to County Committees of Agriculture, there is an increase of £7,419. The normal grant which is payable to committees of agriculture is the equivalent of the agricultural rate raised on the rateable valuation of all the counties in the Saorstát, exclusive of urban districts. The minimum rate the county committees strike is 2d. in the £1. If all committees were to remain on the minimum, the amount which the Department would be called upon to contribute would be £72,918. But some committees have signified their intention of striking a higher rate than the minimum. It is estimated that the normal grants this year will be £84,855. In the 1936-1937 Estimates there was a provision in the sub-head for a special grant to meet the expenses incurred by county committees in connection with the distribution of cattle export licences. The corresponding provision in this Estimate has been transferred to a new sub-head OO (11), and under that sub-head OO (11) there is also included the salaries and expenses of the Department's temporary supervisors and assistant supervisors who are employed on this work.
The special grant to provide lime for agricultural purposes has been reduced from £9,500 to £8,000. That has been reduced from the experience of the administration of the scheme for three years. In the first year, 1934-35, the amount actually spent was £7,229; the following year it was £7,709, and last year it was £8,016. Sub-head K (4) is a new sub-head and it provides £2,520 for the development of the manufacture of milk powder in the Saorstát. This is for the purpose of providing a subsidy to a creamery society in respect of milk powder manufactured by them. This is one of the articles of dairy products that remains on the import list. Considerable difficulty is presented in dealing with the building up of the native industry. The troubles are more psychological than economic. I would not like to take the responsibility of compelling mothers to use an Irish product in this case for their children because they may possibly afterwards say that if they had been permitted to import the old food, whatever it may have been, their child's life would have been saved. Instead, therefore, of taking drastic measures, such as excluding foods which are coming in, in favour of what we expect to be a superior food produced at home, we think the better method is to subsidise the home-produced food and enable the manufacturer to put it on the market at a cheaper rate and in that way to get a considerable share of the market in the course of a few years.
Sub-head M (4) deals with loans and grants for agricultural purposes. There is an increase of £4,000. In one instance there has been an increase of £750 in respect of loans for the purchase of stallions. This will be necessary as a result of the recommendations made by the Commission on the Horse Breeding Industry. A sum of £2,000 is provided for loans for the equipment and repair of existing flax scutch mills. A number of these mills had fallen into disrepair and, as there was some revival of flax-growing, difficulties arose in some districts with regard to mills. This provision is put in here so as to enable the Department to give loans at the rate of five per cent. per annum for the repair and equipment of these mills.
There is an increase of £1,000 in respect of loans and grants for the erection, equipment and repair of corn mills. This scheme has been revised over the last few years. The owner of a small mill willing to grind wheat or oats for farmers for their own use —that is, on commission—could get a loan either for the repair of that mill or, alternatively, to build a new mill, limited of course to a certain maximum sum. Our scheme now is that where the needs of farmers can be met by minor repairs to existing buildings and the installation of a small type of grinding machine and perhaps a power plant, estimated to cost not more than £150, a free grant not exceeding one-third of the cost will be given and a loan will be advanced to cover the remainder. The loan will be repayable over a period of ten years at 5 per cent. In the case of existing mills a free grant not to exceed one-half of the cost of repairs and equipment will be given, together with a loan for the other half. The maximum amount of the grant will be £25.
Sub-head O (7) deals with the Pigs and Bacon Act, 1935. There is an increase on that sub-head of £9,784. Part II of that Act did not come into operation until 1st April, 1937, and that necessitated the appointment of veterinary and lay staffs in the various factories. Sub-head O (9) refers to the Agricultural Products (Regulation of Export) Acts and there is an increase of £73,768. With respect to the purchase, storage and export of butter, there is an increase of £81,000. The increase is due to the fact that in 1937 a greater proportion of the foreign exchange made available in Germany for the importation of Saorstát products will be allocated for the importation of butter. Sub-head O (11) has reference to the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Acts and there is an increase of £43,894. New trade agreements with Germany and Belgium provide for an appreciably larger number of cattle in 1937-38.
Sub-head OO (11) deals with the distribution of cattle and export licences, and there is an increase of £6,479. The increase is in respect of the salaries and expenses of temporary supervisors and assistant supervisors, which the Department find it necessary to employ in order to ensure the best possible results. Sub-head O (14) refers to the Agricultural Wages Act, and there is an increase of £4,700. There is a provision of £5,000 here, but that is only an approximate sum. The Department are not in a position to make a detailed estimate.
There is a decrease under certain other sub-heads. In the case of salaries, wages and allowances, for instance, there is a decrease of £6,942. There is a summary set out in the Estimate of the staff provided for, and on page 205 of the Book of Estimates it will be found that the administrative staff will be reduced from 606 in 1936-37 to 496 in 1937-38. The reduction is mainly due to the discontinuance in part of the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Acts. In the case of sub-head M (5), relating to the improvement of the creamery industry, there is a decrease of £30,800. There are no big schemes for the erection of creameries in contemplation during the year, and the Estimate is consequently smaller this year.
Sub-head O (8) refers to the Agricultural Produce (Cereals) Acts. Under that sub-head there is a decrease of £1,300, due to the discontinuance of the advances to seed merchants. In the case of sub-head O (10)—Acquisition of Land (Allotments) (Amendment) Act— there is a decrease of £1,341, principally due to an decrease in the amount provided for implements, as many plotholders have already been supplied with implements. Under the oats and barley purchase scheme there is only a token Vote of £5 for this year. Under sub-head O (15) there is a sum of £250 provided for the purposes of the Noxious Weeds Act. This indicates a reduction also, as under the new Act the administration is carried out to a great extent through the Gárda Síochána.
Coming to the Appropriations-in-Aid, there is indicated there an estimated increase of £185,469. The more important increases are receipts from service fees of stallions, sale of colts, sale and leasing of bulls, etc., and the amount is £3,350. The recoupment from the Dairy Produce Fund in respect of salaries and expenses of inspectors under the Dairy Produce (Price Stabilisation) Act came to £4,990. As regards the Agricultural Products (Regulation of Export) Acts, there will be an estimated increased income of £101,716. In connection with the administration of the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Acts, it is estimated that the income will be increased by £73,640.