I move:
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £19,072 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1942, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí Oifig an Aire Soláthairtí.
That a sum, not exceeding £19,072, be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 1942, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Supplies.
I presume Deputies will not wish me to discuss at any length the details of this Estimate. The explanatory notes set out on the face of the Estimate will give them most of the information they require. There is, however, one thing I wish to say concerning the amount of the Estimate and the general increase over last year. I mentioned when moving the Estimate last year that the practice of staffing the Department of Supplies by the loan of the services of officers from other Departments had been adopted and continued during the year, but it was found necessary to depart from that pactice to some extent. The most important departure was in the case of the staff engaged on price control work, and the bulk of that staff has been transferred to the Department of Supplies. Extra staff had to be recruited to cope with the increase in the general work of the Department. These are the circumstances that explain the increase in sub-head A in the present year. The provision for advertising and publicity alone shows a substantial increase, due to the necessity of a campaign urging economy in the consumption of foodstuffs likely to be in short supply. The extension of the rationing of tea, cocoa, coal and other commodities requires increased advertising, and the expenditure in that respect during this year will be substantial.
The developments in the war situation within the past 12 months have greatly altered the position regarding the supply of essential commodities. Many normal sources of supply for a wide range of goods have been entirely cut off, and the ability to avail of alternative sources, where such goods as well as others are plentiful, is severely restricted by lack of shipping, by limitation in foreign exchange resources, and by the requirements of the belligerents for materials needed in the production of armaments.
The shipping position is one of great difficulty. I do not propose to refer to it at any length now, because it would be more convenient to discuss it on the Supplementary Estimate for Shipping, which will be taken after the conclusion of the debate upon this main Estimate for the Department of Supplies. I wish merely to say that there are now almost no neutral ocean-going vessels available either for purchase or charter, and the measures taken to acquire ships through the company which has been established—Irish Shipping, Limited—for the carriage of goods to this country have consequently yielded only partial success. Ships that have been obtained will be required almost entirely to bring cargoes of wheat, which are our most important need, and it is not anticipated that it will be possible to make space available on these ships for general cargoes, save to a very small extent where circumstances of a very exceptional nature exist. Experience so far shows that the difficulties in regard to shipping will continue, and I think will be increased, if, as appears possible, there is a further extension in the field of combatant activity. Our supply problem would not, however, be solved even if it were found possible to ease the position with regard to shipping. The fact that most of our external assets consist of sterling securities puts a limit to our capacity to buy outside the sterling area, and we have to look to countries outside that area for many important supplies, such as wheat. That factor of foreign exchange also affects our ability to buy other goods, and owing to the demands of the armament industries, material, labour and shipping are no longer available to us, or are available only in reduced quantities from the United Kingdom, which was the chief source or channel of supplies in normal times.
Owing to the operation of the factors I have mentioned, we are facing a severe shortage of food supplies for human consumption, in animal feeding stuffs, in artificial manures, in fuel and in most of the raw materials for industry. We must recognise that the short supply of these commodities will persist while the war lasts, and we must make the necessary adjustments to meet the shortage. Rationing of consumption in one form or another will have to be applied and extended as circumstances require. Action in that direction has been already taken with regard to petrol, kerosene, fuel oil, coal, tea and cocoa. It is my desire to give the Dáil a brief review of our present stocks and future prospects in regard to a number of commodities in which the public are particularly interested. It will not be possible in the course of the time available to refer to the commodities which are in short supply now or concerning which future difficulties are inevitable. I wish, however, to give Deputies all the information that they require and that is available. If any Deputy wishes to know the position concerning a particular commodity to which I do not refer now, I will endeavour to meet his wishes when concluding the debate.
The first commodity to which special reference must be made, because it is of primary importance, is wheat. We require here in normal circumstances approximately 52,000 sacks of flour per week. During last year, because of the efforts we made to secure the dispersal of stocks, to ensure that minimum supplies would exist in all areas, and that the risk of damage to these stocks in the event of an attack on this country would be reduced, the weekly sales of flour exceeded the normal average of 52,000 sacks and reached an average of 53,000 sacks per week.
Up to about the end of last year, the normal inflow of wheat from overseas to supplement the home-grown crop was well maintained at a figure of 331,858 tons for the whole year, and it had not been found necessary, until recently, to draw on the reserve supplies which had been held in store since the outbreak of the war. When it became evident that there would be difficulties in arranging transport for wheat cargoes from abroad, steps were taken to conserve the supplies within the country so that sufficient flour and bread would be available to meet requirements until the next harvest. These steps are, I think, known to most Deputies. We increased the extraction of flour from the wheat berry. The normal extraction is 70 per cent., and by successive stages the extraction was increased up to the present percentage of 95. In addition, by an arrangement with the Flour Millers' Association, deliveries by its members were restricted to 48,000 sacks of flour per week. It was considered, in view of the abnormal purchases in 1941, that a slight reduction in sales by the mills should not result in any hardship. In fact, there is evidence that the 48,000 sacks of flour per week, now being delivered, are more than sufficient to meet the current demand. Whether that is due to one cause or another it is difficult to say. We have, of course, appealed to the public to economise in the use of flour and bread and to avoid wastage. Possibly as a result of those appeals, the consumption of flour is at present slightly less than the 48,000 sacks per week now being delivered by the mills. We made an order making it an offence to feed wheat or flour to animals, and we made an appeal to the public to substitute other foods, which are in plentiful supply, for flour, to the maximum extent possible.
The stock of wheat available for the manufacture of flour, together with the sack held in the millers' stores, represented on the 14th June, 618,800 sacks of flour. That stock, without taking into account the stock held in retail shops or on bakers' premises, is sufficient to meet requirements until next harvest, on the basis of a demand of 48,000 sacks of flour per week. By an arrangement with Irish Shipping.
Limited, Grain Importers (Eire), Limited, have booked cargo space for a quantity of wheat on ships trading between New York and Lisbon. A portion of that cargo has already arrived in Lisbon, and Irish Shipping, Limited, are making arrangements for the transport of the wheat to this country. It will be seen, therefore, that there is no immediate cause for anxiety as to our flour and bread supplies up to next harvest. It is, of course, too early as yet to forecast the yield of wheat, and other cereals, from the next harvest, but it is not improbable that a certain amount of other cereals may have to be used with wheat for the production of our flour requirements, when the next harvest has been gathered. Close consideration is at present being given to the problems which may arise in the collection and distribution of the new cereal crop so that the most economical use will be made of it to meet both human and animal needs, on the assumption that the country will be completely cut off from supplies of wheat and of animal feeding stuffs from abroad.
The price of flour, at the commencement of the last financial year, was 47/6 per sack, which was increased to 52/6 per sack on the 9th September, owing to the increased cost of Irish grain, the guaranteed price of which, for the 1940 harvest, was 35/- per barrel, compared to an average price of 30/- per barrel in the preceding year. When the extraction of flour was increased to 75 per cent. there could have been a reduction in the price of flour inasmuch as a smaller quantity of wheat was required per sack. That reduction, however, did not take place, but, instead, the allocation price of imported wheat to the millers was increased by 2/- per 480 lbs., and any monetary advantage accruing to Grain Importers, Limited, from that arrangement has been used for the purpose of creating a special fund. For similar reasons, when the percentage of the extraction of flour was further increased, the allocation price of imported wheat was correspondingly increased, and now stands at the figure of 55/6 per 480 lbs. It was considered more desirable to allow that special fund to accumulate to meet contingencies rather than to reduce temporarily the price of flour and bread which would again have to be raised, and raised very considerably, when the wheat from the next harvest comes on the market at the new guaranteed price of 40/- per 280 lbs.
We have had some discussions here upon the advisability of increasing the flour extraction to 95 per cent. of the wheat. All I wish to say at this stage is that the matter was very carefully considered before a decision was taken, and that the decision was not adopted merely by rule of thumb methods to secure a greater yield from the wheat available. A great deal of assistance was given both by the millers and the different bakers' organisations over a long period, and I would like to express my appreciation of the help they have given me. At one time it was thought that it would be necessary to incorporate some other cereal with wheat to carry the country on until next harvest, and the cereals considered most suitable were barley and oats. Experiments in the making of different types of loaves were carried out. There were submitted to my Department loaves made from wheat with a flour extraction of 80, 85, 90, and 95 per cent., as well as loaves made from different proportions of these flours. Furthermore, loaves were baked from mixtures of wheaten flour and barley flour of different extractions. Finally, in the view of all concerned it was considered best to adopt the all-wheaten loaf. An important consideration is the capacity of the baker to produce a satisfactory loaf with the minimum of wastage. It should be remembered that the baker has the further disadvantage of having to work with a much smaller percentage of strong wheats than he used in pre-war days, which makes it still more difficult for him to produce a satisfactory loaf. All things considered, the loaf now on the market was believed to be the most palatable and economical. Different views have been expressed as to the quality of the present loaf and there is no convincing argument that it is not as good as the white loaf.
Several months ago arrangements were made to purchase supplies of suitable barley for mixing with wheat should the necessity arise. Several thousand tons of barley were obtained at that time. A certain quantity of oats was also purchased. But, in the current cereal year, neither barley nor oats will be required for the manufacture of bread. Further examination is being given to the matter of using barley and oats next year. From the information available it appears that a certain amount of pre-cooking of oats is desirable before mixing the oaten flour with wheaten flour. We are also examining the possibility of utilising potato flour. I hope that it will not be necessary to ration either bread or flour. At the same time the possibility of having to introduce rationing has been anticipated, and a scheme which may prove to be satisfactory can be put into operation in a reasonably short space of time. The rationing of these particular food stuffs may prove to be a most elaborate affair, involving considerable expense on the taxpayer, and for that reasons, I believe that it should be avoided for as long as possible. Arrangements have been made for the registration of all bakers and all wholesale flour merchants, and at a later stage it may be found necessary or desirable to register everybody trading in bread and flour.
I made another order, to which Deputies may have seen a reference in this morning's paper, prohibiting a practice which has developed, particularly in the City of Limerick, of extracting the bran and pollard from the flour. That practice obviously involves considerable wastage, and it is clearly desirable that it should be stopped. I had taken action to stop it previously by curtailing the deliveries of flour to the bakeries believed to be adopting the practice. That did not prove to be a sufficient deterrent, and I have now made an order making it illegal to adopt the practice. It is necessary that the bakers concerned should understand that, apart from any penalties that may be imposed on them for breach of the order, I will have power to put them out of business for the duration of the war, a power which I will not hesitate to exercise if necessary. I realise that the closing of a bakery may have adverse effects upon the workers employed in it. I should point out to the workers concerned, however, who may be so affected, that they cannot be required by their employers to break the law, and if workers employed in these bakeries are asked to facilitate a practice which is against the law it is their duty, not merely to the country as a whole, but to themselves to refuse to do so, because a continuance of the practice may involve the closing of their place of work.
The next commodity to which I wish to make reference is tea. I presume Deputies will not require me to give again a review of our tea position since the outbreak of hostilities, or of our relations with the British Tea Control.