asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware that considerable unrest exists and has existed among milk producers in the production area for the City of Dublin as a result of the bad conditions under which they are at present working, and if he will state whether representations have been made to him by producers' interests to alter the present system under which milk is marketed, and, if he agrees that existing defects can only be adequately remedied by legislation ensuring stability in the milk trade, he will have the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) (Amendment) Bill, 1939, now on the Order Paper for over one and a half years, circulated immediately with a view to its enactment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Milk Producers.
I am aware that an important section of milk producers in the production area for Dublin is dissatisfied with the present system of marketing milk, and representations on the subject have been made to me. I have discussed the matter with the various classes of producers and find that there is not any substantial agreement between them in regard to methods to be adopted to ensure stability in the milk trade. In the absence of some measure of agreement, I am not prepared to submit a Bill on the subject under existing conditions.
The Bill referred to in the question has been held up in the hope that a scheme of marketing might be formulated which would meet with fairly general approval. As this appears to be impossible for the time being, I propose to proceed with an Amending Bill to improve the present Act in certain details not affecting the matter of marketing. It is hoped to circulate this Bill at an early date.
Does the Minister hope to get agreement where there are conflicting interests?
I want it only with the producers.
There are definitely conflicting interests amongst them. Does the Minister not agree that he has a responsibility to hold the balance fairly between them and to introduce a Bill that will deal fairly with the interests of both sides? If the Minister waits for agreement where there are conflicting interests, he will wait till doomsday. Am I right in saying that the Minister promised an improvement in the conditions at the termination of the milk strike last year, and am I not also right in saying that there has been a reduction in the number of producers in the production area from 1,800 in 1937 to 1,500 last year?
I could not say.
Am I right in saying that milk coming from the creamery areas, which normally would produce butter, increased from the 32,000 gallons which reached the City of Dublin in November, 1936, to 118,000 gallons in 1939, simply because the Minister has not made an effort to control the milk supply to the city from the production area?
But they have not produced it.
Will the Minister now face up to his responsibility in the matter and do something about it? What does he propose to do?
There must be some limit to this. The producer around the Dublin district is getting 1/4½ a gallon at the moment. That is a very fine price compared with what the creamery suppliers are getting. If they are not prepared to produce milk in the district at that price, the Dublin consumers will have to call on the creameries for milk.
Does the Minister not realise that it is not so much price as control that is involved? During the summer period, there is a surplus and considerable quantities of milk are sent back to the country as sour milk which very often is not sour. These things need to be regulated and controlled, and it is the Minister, and the Minister only, who can do that by the introduction of the proper measure.
The supplier, and the supplier only, can do it. He has about twice as much milk in May and in June as he has in winter, and how can he make the Dublin people drink twice as much milk in May and June as they drink in winter?
By reducing the price, we could make them drink a lot more than they are drinking to-day.
They reduce it to half during these months.