asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he is aware that his failure to prepare a storage scheme for grain crops has resulted in the exploitation of small producers, who are in immediate need of money, by grain speculators; and what measures he proposes to take to remedy this situation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Storage of Grain.
I am not aware that there has been any exploitation of producers such as is suggested in the Deputy's question, or that there is any shortage of storage accommodation for grain crops.
Is it not true that the Minister himself published the notice through the Government Information Bureau that, if the speculators continue to store barley, he might find it necessary in the spring time to fix a maximum price, in order to prevent speculators profiteering at the expense of the producers? Does he not realise that what has happened is that he has found himself unable to provide storage, as we asked him to do, and that speculators with stores, which the Minister should have commandeered, have gone into the market and forced the small farmer to sell at whatever price they were prepared to give him; and in the spring of the year those speculators hope to cash in upon it? Our proposal was that the Minister should take the grain in and hold it for the small farmer and give him a reasonable price for it, after deducting the cost of storage.
Is the Minister not aware that barley which was worth 18/- a few months ago is now worth 25/-? The speculator is going to net that profit, not the farmer, simply because the Minister would not agree to fix a fair price when we asked him to do so.
Does the Minister not see that if he had taken the barley, or would now take it, and pay the farmers a sum on account and sell it in April to the millers, when they are ready to take it and use it, at a fair price, and then debit the farmers with the cost of storage and give them whatever extra is due to them, he would ensure that they would get the profit and not the speculator?
I answered the question with regard to the present position, as put to me. Whatever may be the position of farmers selling their oats and barley below what it was actually worth two or three months ago, at the present day if any farmer has barley to sell and if he communicates direct with the maize miller he can sell it direct. I do not know if he can get 25/- per barrel, as Deputy Hughes has suggested.
He can.
He has no cause to be anxious or to complain at the present time.
Does the Minister realise that a great deal of damage has been done? If he realises that, it may mean an improvement in the future. The small man is forced on to the market because he had no place to store his barley during the last three months and is now constrained to sell at 20/- when he could sell at 25/- if he waited until the spring of the year.
The fact is that very little oats or barley was sold by the farmers, at least as far as the census of the amount of oats and barley on the hands of dealers and speculators is concerned.
The big men have not sold, but the small men have had to sell.