asked the Minister for Lands whether he is aware that between 60 and 80 women and girls formerly employed in connection with the Gaeltacht Industries at Corrotigue, County Mayo, have been unemployed for a considerable time; whether he is further aware that the only employment now provided in the district is that of lace making at Corrotigue Lace School, which absorbs less than a dozen girls; whether he is aware that formerly employment was provided in the making of caps, buttons, jumpers and hair nets, and whether he is in a position to state if steps will be taken at an early date to re-employ the large number of women and girls in the district who are now out of work.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Gaeltacht Industries (County Mayo).
During the European war, crochet buttons were made at Corrotigue to meet the demands caused by the shortage of materials for ordinary buttons. Considerable employment was afforded, but on the termination of the war the demand for crochet buttons ceased, and the class reverted to the making of crochet jumpers, hair nets and caps. The demand for these articles ceased over ten years ago, until at one stage there were only two workers employed at Corrotigue. In the year 1932 the centre was reorganised by the Department as a machine-knitting centre, since when the wages earned by the workers in each year exceeded any year since 1924. The number of workers employed at the centre at present is 19. Lace-making is not now carried out at any of the centres conducted by the Department, and the Department is satisfied that the conditions of the market are such that it would not be justified in reintroducing lace and crochet-making at the Corrotigue centre. The development of the centre as a machine-knitting centre, however, is being fostered, and continuous work is being given to the workers.