I move that this Bill be now read a Second Time. The object of it is to enable the Government to carry into effect Article 5 (2) and Articles 9 and 10 of the Trade Agreement with the Government of the United Kingdom relating to the importation of wheat offals, seed oats, seed wheat, wheat and barley in grain, malted barley, and certain feeding stuffs for animals, and biscuits. The importation of all these commodities is at present subject to control under Part VII of the Agricultural Produce (Cereals) Act of 1933. If this provision under Part VII had been somewhat more elastic no additional legislation would be required. As it is, however, some amendments of Part VII of the Act have been found to be necessary, and as a result this measure has been brought in. It is found more convenient to repeal Part VII entirely and to re-enact the provisions that are necessary than to insert the necessary amendments in the original Act. This is made all the more necessary, because two amending Acts have come in in the meantime.
The fact, however, that this Bill looks rather long does not mean that it contains any more than the necessary amendments to bring this Agreement into force. Under the Act of 1933, certain animal feeding stuffs specified in the Third Schedule of the Act were exempted from restriction on importation, but power was vested in the Minister under the Act to place these feeding stuffs on a prohibited list. If on the prohibited list, they could only be admitted under licence. Since 1933 an oil refinery has been set up in business in Drogheda, and as a result of that certain feeding stuffs were added to the list. As the 1933 Act is drawn, we find that we cannot remove those articles from the list without this amending Bill.
Power is being taken in this Bill to enable the Minister for Agriculture to transfer any commodity, including any commodity produced in a particular country, from the prohibited list to the exempted list, and in that way to have the particular commodity admitted free of duty from the country named. But it will be possible, if this Bill goes through, to make an Order to remove wheat offals produced in the United Kingdom from the prohibited list. At the moment, as the legislation stands, a licence would have to be issued for each individual consignment coming in, but if this Bill is passed, the wheat offals can be transferred from the prohibited list, and thereafter wheat offals will be allowed in without any licence or without any formality of any kind.
In addition to that, power is being taken by the Minister for Agriculture to make an order providing for the importation, without a licence, by farmers living near the Border of the animal feeding stuffs that they may require for use on their own farms. This provision is particularly necessary in the case of feeding stuffs as applying to the County Donegal. For instance, certain feeding stuffs such as linseed cake, were particularly difficult to procure in the County Donegal on account of freight and so on, but under this measure it will be possible to allow a certain amount of trade across the Border where farmers are at a disadvantage under the present regulation.
The new features of this proposed legislation might be summarised by saying that the Bill enables orders to be made for the importation without licence of certain commodities which at present could only be imported under licence, and the re-imposition, should the occasion arise, of restrictions on the importation of such commodities. It enables effective quantitative regulation to be maintained and, at the same time, provides that only the produce or manufacture of certain countries may be admitted without restriction.
That is as far as the feeding stuffs go. Part II of the Bill deals with a matter which really comes within the province of the Minister for Industry and Commerce. The only essential difference between this part of the Bill and the existing legislation is that the Minister will have power to make an order providing for the importation, without a licence, of any commodity which at present can be imported only under licence. That power will be used with regard to biscuits which will be allowed in free of quantitative control under the Agreement with Great Britain. Another provision, which is not contained in the present legislation, enables the Revenue Commissioners to require a return by the importer or carrying company concerned of articles which may be unlawfully imported.
The provision in the Cereals Act, 1933, dealing with the exports of certain feeding stuffs has been retained and re-enacted. This provision enables an Order to be made prohibiting the export, except under licence, of any feeding stuffs for animals. That power is being used at the moment in the case of mill offals and of beet pulp. It is intended to re-enact and to use these powers again and to make the necessary order prohibiting the export of wheat offals or beet pulp from this country, as it is considered that we require all the wheat offals that we produce here for our own use. From henceforth, I think, we shall require all the beet pulp that we produce. During the last three or four years we gave a licence for a certain quantity of beet pulp to go out, but the quantity has been getting smaller and smaller. Only a very small quantity went out last season, and I expect from this on no more beet pulp will be allowed to be exported.
