The main characteristic of the Budget in connection with which the Minister has just made his statement is, of course, its size. Even with the taxation which is now in force —and it never was higher in the history of this State—the bill is not met. Whatever criticisms may be urged in this connection, it will be conceded that the Government entered into office in this State charged, according to itself and to all its undertakings, to promote trade and to stimulate employment. Everybody, not only in this country but outside it, realises the great difficulty there is in providing employment for the people. In addition to their responsibility for stimulating trade and helping to swell the number of persons in employment, since the emergency the policy of the Government has been directed towards securing, maintaining and regulating supplies, controlling prices and dealing generally with the administration of those activities which arise from the emergency.
In so far as this Budget before us to-day is concerned with the expenditure that has been added for these purposes, the House has reason to be dissatisfied with the result, if we exclude entirely from our consideration now the war period and take the effect of Government policy on employment. They were apparently dissatisfied with the expansion of employment taking place in this country prior to their taking office. In the last five years of their predecessors in office— the years 1927 to 1931—an additional 57,000 persons were added to the numbers in employment, or an average of 11,400 per year. Take now what has happened from 1932, each year inclusive, down to December, 1939. The addition that was made in those eight years was 75,000, or an average of 9,025 per annum. Therefore, they were 2,000 per annum under the pace of acceleration of their predecessors. Had they been able to keep up the pace of their predecessors, there would have been on December 31st, 1939, 16,200 extra persons in employment in this country.
The most disturbing feature of these statistics—which are to be obtained in Government publications—is that, in the last of those two years—that is, 1938 and 1939—only 1,000 additional persons were added each year to the roll of those in employment. That information will be found in the Statistical Abstract for 1942, published by the Department of Industry and Commerce, page 104. Had trade been stimulated, had employment been increased, had supplies been maintained and prices kept under control, this Budget, notwithstanding its size, would have had at least one plea of justification for it. One of the most depressing of all publications issued by the Government is that dealing with our trade. Before this Government entered into office, they complained about the fall in trade. One Minister recently asked if I were aware that the total trade of this country had gone down by £20,000,000 in the last year. I am not aware of it; it went down by about £15,000,000. The best year of trade that we have had—including the war years, when prices are up, and when the index of prices is far in excess of what it was some ten or 11 years ago—and the best year that the Government has been able to show, is still £7,000,000 under the worst year of the previous administration. That is a matter from which we derive no satisfaction. Considering that that particular drop in the acceleration pace of persons going into employment was marked as long ago as 1938, one would have expected that some special attention would have been directed towards the policy of the Government with a view to improving it, rectifying whatever was wrong and improving, above all, the most important and the most exhaustive store for expanding employment, namely, agriculture.
I would say this for the Minister's Budget speech: it is, probably, the best he has delivered up to this. It faces up to a difficult situation with, perhaps, more candour than has distinguished some of the previous Budgets to which we have listened. I would remind him, however, that if he looks up the Banking Commission Report, he will find this reference, in paragraph 278:—
"It may be, perhaps, added that the wild inflationary movements which have been witnessed after the war have not been due, in the degree that is commonly believed, to excessive lending by private credit institutions, but to other causes and essentially to an abuse of credit powers for meeting State expenditure... The fall in prices tends to increase the real burden of debts, to arrest economic activity, to intensify trade depressions, and cause widespread unemployment, equally undesirable from an economic, social and moral point of view. A fall in production and a shrinkage of national income, though unequally distributed, must to some extent affect all classes."
When we lecture other people about the dangers of inflation, and while we take steps to prevent inflation as far as the activities of other persons are concerned, the efforts of the Government in that direction have not been marked with any degree of success. No private person since the beginning of this war has been borrowing money at the pace at which the Government has borrowed.
If we take any sphere of activity to which one would expect them to pay more than usual attention during the last few years it is the rise in the cost of living. Let us compare the cost of living in this country with what it is across the water. I think the rise in food prices has been claimed by the Minister for Finance in Great Britain as not having exceeded 30 per cent., and it is at present as low as 20 per cent. The cost of living here, according to the Minister's statement, has increased by 60 per cent. It has certainly increased by over 50 per cent. of what it was when hostilities broke out. It is in that direction that I would advise that even greater precautions should be taken than in many others that have been mentioned. In the course of his statement the Minister said that the agricultural index figure had gone up about 75 per cent. It is a relative figure, which has probably gone up 75 per cent. from the outbreak of war down to the last date on which the index figure was published for December, 1942. The average for 1939 was under 121. The average for 1942 was not quite 83, so that the increase in the index value would be only about 50 per cent. instead of 75 per cent. Times are difficult. Nobody will deny that, but it does appear to us that responsibility for a good deal of the disturbance, for the lack of provision of essential commodities, and the increase in the cost of living can be traced to the Government by their action or inaction during the last few years. There is no reason why, in a time of emergency, with practically every power that the Government sought granted to them, the House should not be taken into the confidence of the Government.
Let me take one case that was mentioned here during the last two or three years, the Stabilisation of Wages Order No. 166 and all its amendments. Why should not a case for that be made in this House? Would it not be fairly considered? Would not recommendations be made to the Government? Were they not told, before taking up the flat-footed attitude of allowing no increase, that there should be some Department of State to which applications could be made in certain circumstances? This is a time in all countries, whether neutral or belligerent, when there should be co-operation in the representative institutions, in the way of bearing whatever burdens fall on the Administration.
There has been no reluctance in this country to share those burdens, but there has not been candour or approach on the part of the Ministry to the House and, as a consequence, we have a whole series of orders, regulations and things of that sort which are made in the vast majority of cases without consultation with the persons concerned. Nothing could be more irksome or more objectionable. Perhaps it is too late now for the Government to mend its ways in that respect but, whatever time there is left for doing so, it would be well before further action is taken in connection with interference with trade or business that there should be consultation.
Have we not good reason to be dissatisfied with the sum and substance of the Government's embarkation on the provision of fuel when it costs this State 87/6 per ton? People outside are sometimes amazed when they hear that turf is costing 87/6 for a ton. It is dear at 64/- but what about 87/6? The quality is unsatisfactory—highly unsatisfactory—and all the satisfaction one gets when complaints are made is a sharp answer from the Minister or something of that kind. We may have questions of high policy in international affairs, and high sounding terms of one kind or another but what concerns the majority of the people in this State are supplies, and nearly everywhere we hear dissatisfaction with regard to the shortage that prevails, with regard to the high prices of things that are available. Of all countries in the world there is now a shortage of potatoes in the City of Dublin. Although reference has been made already to these matters when dealing with the Estimates, I repeat, we are dissatisfied for these reasons with the action that has been taken. We are satisfied that with the amount of money available and at the disposal of Ministers there ought to have been better results.
The last thing I have to say concerns a matter that was put before me by an income-tax expert, who complains that there are occasions in connection with which this charge falls, when it is practically impossible for people in business to keep track of the manner in which the charges are made. He says that in the case of an individual trader surtax or ordinary excess tax is not considered until about June, 1943 in respect of profits made in the year ending 31st December, 1941. He says that these people will almost have forgotten the figures which have very puzzling permutations. The worst feature is that surtax is not assessed until the fall of 1943 and is not payable until January, 1944. Why legislation is framed in this manner, he observes, is a mystery and he says that in case of taxation imposed in a neighbouring country there is a simplification of the charge without any hangover from December, 1941 to December, 1943. I shall give the Minister particulars of the case if he wishes.