asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether any arrangements have been made to grant an extra ration of bread to persons who will be employed in the cutting of turf during the present season and who are obliged to take their meals on the bogs during turfcutting operations.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Bread Rationing.
Mr. Corish
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he will consider favourably, when reviewing the present arrangements regarding the rationing of bread, the need for a special ration for agricultural workers, fishermen, and other classes of workers engaged in heavy manual labour who must depend mainly on bread to supply their basic food requirements; and if so, whether he will state when the revised rationing arrangements will become operative.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if his Department have now reviewed the position concerning bread rationing; and if so, if he will grant a supplementary ration allowance to agricultural labourers.
Mr. Corish
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether, in view of the fact that men engaged in felling timber are obliged to work a considerable distance from their homes and must, therefore, rely almost entirely on bread as their staple food, he will consider, when revising the present bread ration, the granting to these men of a special ration suitable for their needs.
I propose to take questions Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 together.
Supplementary allowances are already being granted to certain limited classes of persons engaged in heavy manual work, who are compelled by the conditions of their employment to take meals to their work and use their own bread.
I have decided to include certain well-defined classes of agricultural workers in this scheme. Details of the arrangement will be announced shortly, after which applications will be considered from the workers concerned.
I am also prepared to consider applications for supplementary allowances from persons whose main occupation is tree-felling and who are obliged to take a bread meal with them to their work.
I am considering the possibility of devising schemes under which supplementary rations may be granted to cover certain inshore fishermen and seasonal turf workers, but it is clear that serious administrative difficulties will arise in this connection.
Will the Minister indicate when it is likely a decision will be reached in respect of turf workers? The Minister will appreciate that he has already appealed to workers to cut turf as soon as possible, and the moment they start working additional rations will become an urgent necessity.
I could not answer that question, because there are substantial administrative difficulties to be solved.
I am sure the Minister appreciates the importance of an additional bread ration in respect of people engaged in cutting turf. In view of the serious fuel position, will he come to a decision as soon as possible?
A decision will be arrived at as soon as possible.
Has the Minister considered the desirability of granting a supplementary ration to employers of labour, people who employ groups of workers, whether on turf cutting or on special spring agricultural work?
I would like to make it clear that I consider that, with the supplementary rations now allowed, and those in contemplation, we will have gone to the limit in the matter of granting a supplementary ration, and any further extension of the classes to whom supplementary rations would be allowed will necessitate a reduction in the general ration.
Is it the general practice that a ration is related only to an individual?
Yes, and it depends on the circumstances of his employment.
Will a supplementary ration be granted to the farmers who do agricultural work just the same as agricultural labourers?
Nobody gets a supplementary ration merely because he does agricultural work; he will have to do the work in such circumstances that it is not practicable for him to return home to a meal.
Will farmers get a supplementary allowance the same as farm labourers?
No; the scheme applies to limited classes engaged in heavy manual work, and certain well-defined classes of agricultural workers.
Mr. Corish
Will the distance to which men have to travel to work be taken into consideration?
There will be a minimum distance.
Mr. Corish
I am aware that some applications were granted in the case of people who had to travel two miles to their work, while other workers in similar circumstances, who had to travel six or eight miles to their work, were turned down. There seems to be a shocking mix-up there.
There is no mix-up. At present only certain workers are allowed supplementary rations and no other classes of workers are included no matter how far they live from their work. The allowance applies at present to workers doing specified forms of work and then only in circumstances where there are no canteen facilities available where they do the job, or no practical means of permitting them to get ordinary cooked meals at home.
Mr. Corish
The Minister must be aware that there are workers engaged in exactly the same place and at the same kind of work who are treated differently in the matter of this allowance. For instance, I know particular cases where men had to travel eight miles to their place of work and they were refused an allowance, while men who had to travel only two miles got the ration.
I think the Deputy will find that the person who was refused the ration did not accurately describe the work upon which he was engaged.
Did the Minister consider the question of inshore fishermen?
I have mentioned that.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware that a number of private turf cutters are anxious to cut turf on the Dublin Mountains, but that owing to the bogs in the Glencullen and Castlekelly area not being provided with roads, it is impossible to transport turf from these bogs; and if, in view of the urgent necessity for the maximum turf production in the coming year, he will take steps to see that these bogs are developed to the fullest possible extent.
I am aware that a very large number of private turf cutters are anxious to cut turf on the Dublin Mountains. My Department is responsible only for the provision and maintenance of bog roads serving areas of which possession is held by me under Emergency Powers Orders; these areas do not include Castlekelly or Glencullen. Any question of roads there is one for the landowner or for the local authority. I understand that the Dublin County Council has expended various sums in recent years on the provision and maintenance of Glencullen and Castlekelly roads. With regard to areas held under Emergency Powers Orders, my Department has under examination further road extensions in the Glencree locality with a view to providing additional banks. More banks are also being provided in Lough Bray area.
Would the Minister consider, in view of the fact that up to the present the Dublin County Council has not deemed it advisable to extend the roads there, making further representations to the Dublin County Council or to the landowners concerned or, alternatively, getting under his control these additional bogs in order that people who propose to cut turf there may be provided with facilities? The Minister has urged increased turf production and he should see that every facility is given to people anxious to produce turf.
I am sure the Dublin County Council will be alive to their responsibilities.
The county council's answer is that they have done sufficient for their own needs.
I am aware that in the area to which the Deputy refers there was no surplus labour available which could be employed on road construction.
It is a difficult area and, unless something is done, people who are prepared to produce turf there will not have the necessary facilities.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state: (a) the quantity of turf, in cubicyards, needed to meet the normal fuel requirements of Dublin City; and (b) the number of cubic yards of turf used during each of the years 1941 to 1946, inclusive.
The information asked for is not available in my Department. The quantity of turf sold in the Dublin area generally in 1946 by Fuel Importers (Éire), Limited, was approximately 1,800,000 cubic yards. To this must be added privately-produced turf brought to Dublin from the turf areas under movement licence and turf produced in Countries Dublin and Wicklow for which no movement licences were required. It should be observed also that in 1946 and earlier years turf could only be purchased in Dublin on a rationed basis or under permit. The quantities of turf sold are not, therefore, an indication of the requirements of the area. For each of the years 1941 to 1945 sales by Fuel Importers (Éire), Limited, in the Dublin area were respectively, 48,000; 660,000; 1,184,000; 1,764,000; and 1,567,000 cubic yards.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the amount of turf delivered to Dublin in each month of 1946 and during the months of January and February, 1947.
The following are the amounts of turf delivered to Dublin for Fuel Importers (Éire), Limited, in each month of 1946 and in January and February, 1947. The figures include turf diverted to County Dublin and parts of Wicklow. These diversions cannot readily be segregated but are relatively small.
1946—January, 16,000 tons; February, 13,000 tons; March, 15,500 tons; April, 23,500 tons; May, 13,000 tons; June, 33,500 tons; July, 42,000 tons; August, 76,500 tons; September, 55,500 tons; October, 21,500 tons; November, 14,500 tons; December, 10,000 tons.
1947—January, 6,500 tons; February, 9,000 tons.
In addition, over 100,000 tons of turf were brought into the Dublin area in 1946 by merchants, industrialists, etc., under movement licences, but the component monthly tonnages are not available; the relative figures for January and February, 1947, also are not available.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he can state if the recent public advertisements issued by Fuel Importers, Limited, in respect of timber for firewood have had a good response, and to what extent the fuel supply of the City of Dublin will benefit as a result.
The response to the advertisements issued by Fuel Importers (Éire), Limited, in respect of timber for firewood has been fairly good. To avoid misunderstanding I think it is desirable to make it clear that in relation to the total fuel needs of the City of Dublin, the contribution which can be looked for from this source must at best be small.
Would the Minister say when the supplies which are in the hands of Fuel Importers, Limited, will be available in reasonable quantities?
I could not answer that question. The timber procured by Fuel Importers will be distributed by the fuel merchants. I assume that they will take steps to ensure that supplies will be made available as soon as possible.
Will the Minister say whether the fuel depôts will get their quota of these supplies?
I want it to be quite clear that the fuel needs of Dublin cannot be met by firewood. The deficiency in turf supplies due to the fact that approximately 100,000 tons of turf were not moved to the city owing to weather conditions could not be made good except by the felling of 40,000 trees. That figure will indicate the impracticability of having the turf supplies of the city entirely replaced by firewood.
In so far as there may be a limited supply available will the Minister see, because of the special circumstances connected with the depôts, that they do get their quota of the supply which is available?
The term "depôt" is misleading. If the Deputy is referring to stores where private traders sell fuel to registered customers, these stores receive a supply from fuel merchants in the same way as bellmen and draw their supplies from the merchant with whom they are connected. It is to be assumed that the merchants will see that they will get a fair share of the available supplies.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the amount and selling value of coal produced in coalfields in Éire for the years 1939-1946, inclusive.
The information required by the Deputy in respect of the years 1939-1946, inclusive, will be found in the Irish Trade Journal and Statistical Bulletin in the issues for September, 1941; September, 1943, and December, 1945. The quantity of coal raised in 1945 was 212,480 tons, value £471,068, and the quantity raised in 1946 was 212,019 tons. The figures for the net selling value for 1946 are not yet available.