I move:—
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £10 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1944, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Agriculture, and of certain services administered by that Office, including sundry Grants-in-Aid.
Under sub-head G (3)—Fertiliser Schemes—we are asking for a sum of £10. There is a subsidy payable on fertilisers, bringing their price down to what it is at the moment, namely, £13 a ton. When framing the Estimate the internal sources of pyrites were not taken into account. We are now using pyrites from Avoca, and it is expected that in this financial year the sum necessary to pay the subsidy on 2,200 tons will be about £3,000. But, as there are savings on phosphates and so on, £10 will be sufficient to cover the sub-head. The next point is the Tully Stud, for which we are asking £9,267. After negotiations with the British Government, the stud was taken over on the 1st January. There will be paid to the British Government for the stock, machinery and so on a sum of £6,960. Of that sum, £5,182 was for farm stock, cattle and working horses. The thoroughbred stock had been removed before that date and, therefore, none of them came over. As against that, the British Government have agreed to pay to the Irish Government a sum for use of the premises since 1922. That is still, the subject of discussion and I cannot state definitely what the amount may be.
The farm is, as Deputies know, adjacent to Kildare town and comprises about 870 acres. It has been used as a stud farm since 1916 and the Government have decided that it will be used as a stud farm again, as soon as we can proceed to stock it. In the meantime it must be carried on as a farm, and this money is necessary to pay for the stock, to buy more cattle and also pay wages up to the 31st March. The amount due for wages up to 31st March will be approximately £922. There may be some proceeds from the farming, but that will not be very much because we will not be selling any of the stock, it is expected, before 31st March.
Then there is a temporary scheme in connection with farm improvements under sub-head M (9). The sum required is £8,690. This is to pay the staff for a longer period than was anticipated in the original Estimate. In that Estimate we thought that these men would work for only 35 weeks, but in fact, they will be working for 45 instead of 35 weeks during this financial year. They commenced operations much sooner than was expected and they will go on to the 31st March. The money is entirely for the purpose of paying the staff.
Sub-head O (10) deals with Emergency Powers (Tillage) Orders. Here there was an increase in the staff. We provided for a staff of 52 inspectors and 51 supervisors, but the numbers have been increased to 62 inspectors and 200 supervisors. The reason for the increase was the change in the tillage Order, the necessity for enforcing the tillage Order on account of the increased percentage prescribed, and on account of compulsory wheat growing. Also, the administration of the Order is a bit more difficult because of the inclusion of first crop meadow as tillage.
Then there is sub-head Q, dealing with the additional emergency bonus, and the amount is £2,900. That has cropped up in all the other Departments; it is the bonus that was given to the staffs from January to the 31st March.
As regards the Appropriations-in-Aid, there are changes in some of the headings there under the Agricultural Produce (Fresh Meat) Acts, the Pigs and Bacon Acts, and the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Acts. In the case of fresh meat, the export of meat is very much smaller. There is very little meat going out now as dressed meat, and therefore the fees collected on that fresh meat are considerably reduced. The same applies to pigs and bacon. The fees collected in pig and bacon factories are very much smaller because there are fewer pigs being killed. In the case of the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Acts, the business done there is canning. Canning had become a fairly big business and it was estimated, when the main Estimate was drawn up, that we would deal with 30,000,000 1-lb. cans of stewed steak, and there was a levy of 1/12th of a penny per can. We found we could deal with only 22,500,000 instead of the 30,000,000, so there is a reduction from the receipts there.
The Appropriations-in-Aid are increased, on the other hand, by a receipt from Vote 67—relief schemes— and the sum payable in connection with farm improvements. The amount is £8,690. There is also an increase under the Agricultural Produce (Cereals) Acts by way of receipts from licences to deal in wheat and barley and receipts from threshing set licences. The fee for the licence to deal in wheat and barley is £3 and the fee for a threshing set licence is 10/-. There will be a small receipt from the national stud. It is put down here at £10, a token amount. We do not know what it may amount to. There is also a sum here recoverable in respect of the salaries of officers seconded to the Dairy Disposal Company, Limited, the Dublin District Milk Board, the Sea Fisheries Association, the Pigs and Bacon Commission, etc. These officers were lent to these various bodies and that amounts to £5,000. All that arose through a change in the administrative system. Since the 1st April, 1943, the administrative expenses of the Dairy Disposal Company have been defrayed from their own funds and the salaries of the officers seconded to the company are recoverable from the company, and hence there is a receipt for the Appropriations-in-Aid.
