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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 30 Oct 1941

Vol. 85 No. 2

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Transport of Pigs.

asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he is aware that transport urgently required for fuel and necessities is being used by the Pigs and Bacon Commission to move live pigs from West of Ireland bacon factories to southern factories, although the western factories concerned are standing idle, with their employees unemployed, and whether he will stop this imprudent effort to operate a peace-time expedient in the midst of national emergency.

Bacon pigs have not been moved from the West of Ireland to southern factories, and consequently transport required for fuel and necessities is not being used for this purpose. The net result of the control exercised by the Pigs and Bacon Commission is a substantial saving in transport. In the absence of such control, considerably greater movement of bacon pigs would be taking place from one area to another.

Is the Minister aware that last week Messrs. Denny's of Waterford transferred a part of their quota to their factory in Sligo in order to secure the transfer of live pigs from Ballaghaderreen to Sligo, and that live pigs were taken out of the bacon factory in Ballaghaderreen, which was standing idle, and transferred to Sligo to be slaughtered there in order that the firm in Sligo might earn a profit on those pigs, instead of letting the factory standing idle in Ballaghaderreen slaughter them and convert them into bacon? Does the Minister think it expedient, at a time when every railway wagon in the country is required for the transfer of fuel to the large centres of population, that railway wagons should be brought empty to Ballaghaderreen, be there filled with live pigs and be brought down to Sligo, while at the same time live pigs are being shifted from Sligo to Claremorris, and the factory in Ballaghaderreen is standing idle?

It is true that live pigs were shifted from Ballaghaderreen to Sligo. I think it is also true that part of Messrs. Denny's quota was transferred from Waterford to Sligo. Of course, where you have companies with three or four different factories it has been their practice sometimes to transfer their quota from one place to another. On the whole, I think it is better that the Pigs Commission should control the distribution of pigs.

They cannot control the distribution of pigs unless they do it by some system of quota, and the quota is based on the number that each factory dealt with in the 12 months to the end of September in free competition. I think that less transport is being wasted since the Pigs Commission took control than was wasted before. It is necessary at times to transfer pigs from one place to another, but the Pigs Commission will see that they are transferred the shortest possible distance.

Is it suggested by the Minister that, at a time when the Taoiseach is making the welkin ring about the necessity for transport of fuel to the City of Dublin, any sane man would agree to railway wagons being used to move live pigs from one factory to another, the factory from which they are moved standing idle, merely to implement a quota scheme devised for the peace-time administration of the industry? Does not everybody know that that is "daft"?

I should like the Deputy to look at the matter in a reasonable way. The choice was between the present scheme and the old scheme— allowing the competition which obtained up to two months ago to go on, whereby you had Cork factories bringing pigs from the west, Limerick factories bringing pigs from Kerry and Kerry factories having to go several miles to get their pigs, and the present system. The Pigs Commission stepped in and, as far as possible, they see that the pigs are left at the nearest factory. There is less waste of transport in this way, but there must be some waste.

How can the Minister describe as "leaving the pigs to the nearest factory" the practice by which the Department's inspectors go in, take pigs out of a factory and cart them 30 miles away? That is not leaving pigs to the nearest factory. At a time when transport is vital, anything that throws an additional burden on that transport should be suspended until such time as the transport crisis shall have passed. That is the burden of my remonstrance. Inspectors are going in and shifting pigs 30 miles away to another factory. For the duration of the transport crisis, let this quota system be suspended and refuse to allow them to cart pigs all over the country. I would not give them wagons for that purpose. Let the pigs be killed at the nearest factory. In ordinary times, there may be a good deal to be said for the quota system but, during the present crisis, pigs should not be shifted from Billy to Jack in this way.

It would be difficult to lay down the principle that pigs must go to the nearest factory, because you might have factories equi-distant, such as Ballaghadereen and Sligo. There are three factories in Cork and three in Limerick and how could you decide in cases where pigs were an equal distance from some of these factories?

Let them not be carting pigs all over the country.

They are not being carted all over the country.

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