I know you would not. It will be welcomed by Deputy Linehan, but not by me. I am speaking now with regard to efficiency in the direction of matters. It is rather a commentary on the way things are done generally. It certainly indicates the slipshod method adopted when anything gets into the hands of a Government Department. Assuming there was laxity in regard to this matter up to the outbreak of the war, there was still time after that to push ahead and give the contractor, say, six months to do the job. I regret that was not done. I regret that it will now have to remain over until after the war and that wool will have to be sent from Donegal to Cork and then back again to Donegal. That is bad business. It may be said that we are spending money, but that may either have to be added to the cost or come from the taxpayers. What I am concerned with is the business aspect of it and the question of efficiency in production.
As we have reached this stage, I should like to be assured that there will be very close and efficient supervision of the quality of the wool that is converted into yarn and that the dyeing processes will be amply tested to ensure that the cloth that is produced from the dyed wools will be of a lasting quality. I hope that the utmost care will be taken in dyeing the wool to see that the dyes used are first-class, that the dyes will be of such a character that when the thread is made into cloth it will keep its colour. It would be very serious in an innovation of this kind if the colours are mixed in such a way that after a short period of wear they would fade. During the last war that happened with cloths for which a high price was paid. We should take every precaution to see that there is no injurious action. I would impress upon the Parliamentary Secretary that he should exercise his authority in the control of this new development for the sake of the reputation of the material that is to be produced by the Department of which he has charge.
I am glad to know that carrageen is coming into its own. For years I have been urging in this House the importance of this product for human and animal use. Of course, one was looked upon as having a bee in one's bonnet about this matter. In these days of propaganda by means of the microphone, a single voice has no chance of being heard. I am glad that present circumstances will perform the process of education which I was unable to perform. I am glad to know from chemists and others that the sale of carrageen is increasing. A great opportunity is now provided for its sale owing to the shortage of cornflour, semolina, farola, etc. The carrageen which I have seen, I must say, was in perfect condition. What I am anxious about is, that the quality of it should be kept up when the market for its sale increases, and that there will be no falling off in the quality, or the packing of the carrageen.
With regard to kelp, some seven or eight years ago I suggested that steps should be taken by the Government to try to develop that industry from the point of view of the future. I pointed out that a day might come when it would be necessary to have the industry developed—a day of tragedy for the world, which, if one may say so, has already arrived. My suggestion was that the people living along the coast in the Gaeltacht areas should be offered a flat rate of about £5 a ton for the kelp, which would mean, from the national point of view, that it would be an important source of supply of a vital necessity. Apart from that, it would mean taking men off the dole. Such work would keep them morally as well as physically fit, because they would be getting money which they earned for themselves. It would strengthen their moral fibre.
I should like the Parliamentary Secretary, when he is replying, to tell us, quite frankly, who are our competitors with regard to this, and to what use are they putting the kelp. Are they nationals of the Twenty-Six Counties, or are they from Northern Ireland or from England, and if they are from Northern Ireland, are they acting on behalf of British concerns? Is the kelp being used for chemical purposes, or is it being used as a fertiliser? Of course, when I asked the Minister for Agriculture a question on this matter some time ago, he brushed me aside, but I think it is a fact that scientists in this country have been experimenting for some years and have found out that, in the production of flax fibre of the highest quality, there was no fertiliser to compare with kelp. If the Parliamentary Secretary has any information on that point, I think it would be well for him to tell the House and the country what has been the result of these experiments.
I think we should be told what is the value, from a fertilising point of view, of the kelp, if the Parliamentary Secretary has the information at his disposal. I have been convinced long ago, by experience, of the value of that material as a fertiliser, but, again, you have this kind of mass propaganda with regard to commercial fertilisers. Huge combines are concerned, and they can use various weapons whereby they can shut out the operation of an industry like this. For that reason, I think the Parliamentary Secretary, if he has such information, should give it to the House, so that farmers and industrialists, here as well as elsewhere, could be made aware of the potentialities of this material from the fertilising point of view. If it has been found by experiments that the application of kelp to certain crops has a greater value than it was previously known to have, then the House and the country should be informed of that, and if there is any possibility of its sale being extended outside this country, our Consuls should be put in the position of being able to use their offices for the purpose of letting that information be known in the countries to which they have been appointed.
Again, with regard to this matter of the spinning and dyeing mill, I take it that the dyeing is going to take place along with the spinning, but I should like to emphasise the importance of the thread being well made and the dyeing being well done. The first thing is to see that the dyes are dissolved properly and, secondly, when the wool is dyed, to see that it should not be woven until technical tests are applied to the wool to see that the dye is absolutely fast and will do credit to the country and the Department.