asked the Minister for Supplies whether he is aware of the fact that turf is being sold in Kildare town at £3 10s. 0d. per ton, and whether he proposes to take any action to ensure that such exorbitant prices will be substantially reduced.
Ceisteanna.—Questions. Oral Answers. - Turf Prices in Kildare.
Supplies of turf are available in the town of Kildare at substantially lower prices than that quoted by the Deputy, and consumers who are paying £3 10s. 0d. per ton have, therefore, the remedy in their own hands.
Would the Minister take action if any trader in the town asks the sum of £3 10s. 0d. per ton for turf? Is it not obvious that that is a high price?
I understand there is a licensed merchant in the town of Kildare who is selling turf at £3 per ton, and an examination of his costings would appear to suggest that he could not sell it at any lower price. The bulk of the supply comes into the town and is sold by hucksters, or the Kildare equivalents of the Dublin bellmen, and it is true that they sometimes charge for small lots prices which, reckoned per ton, are out of all relation to the proper price of turf. It is difficult to prevent people buying turf in small quantities at inflated prices. They do not have to do it; they can procure a supply at lower prices, but the mere fact that they can does not always mean that they will. I think the Deputy is aware of the difficulty of supervising all these sales. I know that arrangements which have been made will enable residents of the town to produce their own turf this year. This will ensure that a very high proportion of the townspeople will be independent of purchases. They are making arrangements to produce their own turf.
Could the Minister give consideration to the fixing of a ceiling price for turf in these areas?
It would be almost impossible to do that, because the turf is produced at different bogs which are at different distances from the town, and there are different circumstances. It would be impossible to fix a price for all the bogs unless one fixed a maximum price for the bog farthest away. Obviously that would not be reasonable.