I move:—
Go ndeontar suim Bhreise ná raghaidh thar £10 chur íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1939, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí Oifig an Aire Tionnscail agus Tráchtála, maraon le hIldeontaisí-i-gCabhair.
That a Supplementary sum not exceeding £10 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1939, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Industry and Commerce, including sundry Grants-in-Aid.
As Deputies will have noted, there are three sub-heads under which additional provision is necessary—Sub-head J, New York World Fair, 1939; sub-head L, Minerals Exploration, and sub-head N, Prices Commission. I shall deal with the three items in order. In connection with the New York World Fair Vote, the additional provision arises firstly from an increase in the amount necessary to provide Irish pavilions at the Fair and, secondly, from the fact that portion of the total payment which we anticipated would not be necessary until next year will fall to be met in this year. That is, in a sense, only a book-keeping transaction and the corresponding amount to be voted for 1939-40 will be reduced in consequence. The plans made for our participation in the New York World Fair provided for two pavilions. The first, which has a floor space of 5,000 square feet, will contain exhibits of an historical and cultural character and exhibits showing development in Ireland in the economic, educational, social and other spheres during the past 15 or 16 years. The shell of that building has been placed at our disposal by the Fair authorities, but the Irish Government must bear the cost of interior decoration, the provision of transport, the installation of exhibits, staffing and experts' fees, lighting and other operating charges. The expenditure under this heading is estimated at £15,000.
The other pavilion, which has a total floor space of 9,000 square feet, is being devoted to trade interests. It will contain, in addition, a comprehensive tourist information bureau and exhibits covering industrial products for which there is an actual or potential market in the United States. Part, and in two or three cases the whole, of the cost of the exhibits in that pavilion will be borne by the firms concerned. Even so, the public expenditure in respect of the second pavilion was estimated at £35,000, made up of £11,000 for the construction of the pavilion itself and £24,000 to cover the cost of decorating, staffing, transport, insurance, lighting and other operating charges. Altogether, the expenditure in respect of the two pavilions was originally estimated at £50,000. The Estimate of £11,000 for the cost of constructing the second pavilion has, however, been exceeded. Although the Estimate originally made by the Department's architectural advisers, on the basis of the approved design, was well within that sum, the actual cost of the building will amount, on the basis of the contract which has now been signed, to nearly £21,000. That excess must necessarily involve some revision in the total cost as originally estimated. It is now estimated that the total expenditure will be £62,400, rather than £50,000.
As I explained, since the Estimates were framed it has transpired that in addition to making provision to cover the extra cost of the second pavilion, provision will also have to be made in the current year to meet an expenditure which it is now felt will come within the course of payment within the year and not during next year, as anticipated originally. It is, therefore, necessary to make provision for a sum of £37,400, that is £17,400 in excess of the original Estimate. It is hoped that a sum of £25,000 will be sufficient to cover all the expenses during the year 1939-40. The total cost, as I have stated, will not exceed £62,400, but contributions from firms, who have rented space in the trade pavilion, are expected to yield £2,400, making the net cost of Ireland's participation £60,000. The contributions from these firms are not being credited against the cost of participation but are being treated, as Deputies will notice, as Appropriations-in-Aid.
The increased expenditure for minerals exploration arises also under two headings. In the current year's Estimate, provision was made for the expenditure necessary to carry on a scheme of exploration of gypsum deposits in the Carrickmacross-Kingscourt area. The work began in February last and is expected to be near completion at the end of this financial year. The work comprises a number of borings which are being carried out by an Irish firm under the supervision of a resident mine manager appointed by, and responsible to, my Department, and acting under the direction of a firm of consulting mining engineers employed by us. The amount provided in the Estimate, £5,500, was intended to cover consultant's fees, travelling expenses, mine manager's salary, boring expenses, analysts' fees, land damage compensation and other incidental charges. The additional provision is required as portion of the programme which it was hoped to have carried out by the 31st March, 1938. The total estimated expenditure is now given as £8,500, £3,000 of which was provided in 1937-38 and the balance in the current year. The actual expenditure amounted approximately to £400 only, and it is necessary, that of the unexpended balance, £2,600, a sum of £1,000 should be revoted in the current year, as supplementary to the amount of £5,500 already voted. I may say that the results of the borings to date have been highly satisfactory and there is every reason to believe that the final results of the investigations will prove that in that area—Carrickmacross-Kingscourt—there is an extensive deposit of high-grade gypsum suitable for use in a variety of industries.
The second item of new expenditure under this sub-head relates to the proposed grant to the firm of Messrs Flemings' Fireclays, Ltd., towards the cost of borings for coal to be made near the Swan, Athy. That firm holds a lease under the Mines and Minerals Act of 1931. The available geological evidence warrants the assumption that seams of anthracite coal underly the strata in the area of the company's lease. The company claim, in fact, that the area is the centre of a coal basin and that the thickness of the coal seam at the outcrops indicates that a reasonably good seam will be found in the centre of the basin. The Department's geological advisers are uncertain that the underlying seams will be found to be of workable thickness, but they agree that this can only be established by means of sinking boreholes, and, in fact, it has been long contemplated by my Department that any exploratory scheme in connection with the minerals of the northern part of the Leinster coalfield would include the sinking of a number of bores in the area now held by Messrs. Flemings' Fireclays, Ltd. In the circumstances, I am disposed to assist the company to explore the coal deposits of the area, all the more so because, if some workable thickness were discovered, I understand that the company, who are already established on the site, propose to develop the deposits. The question of the proposed grant has accordingly been discussed tentatively with Messrs. Fireclays, Ltd. It has been made clear to the company that the whole cost of any exploratory work carried out would not be borne by the State, and that the only acceptable arrangement would be one under which the expenses would be shared by the company on a contributory basis. As a result of these discussions, an arrangement has been come to whereby some three boreholes will be sunk. These will be sufficient to dispose of the difficulty at present felt by the Geological Survey. There is no intention of sinking, at Government expense, boreholes such as would be necessary for large-scale investigation of the commercial possibilities of the coal in the leasehold area. If these are undertaken, they will have to be at the company's own expense.
The third item relates to additional provision in respect of the staff of the Prices Commission. As Deputies will remember, the Prices Commission (Extension of Functions) Act was passed last year, and necessitated the provision of additional staff for the Prices Commission in consequence of the additional work given to them. That additional provision of £4,025, with an additional £170 for incidental expenses, is being made under this Supplementary Estimate. I do not know if any Deputies would desire to have a review of the work done by the Prices Commission.