asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state (a) the number of hosiery factories in Ireland; (b) the number of persons employed in such factories; (c) the annual output from these factories; (d) the normal consumption of such goods, including home-manufactured and imported goods, and (e) whether existing factories in Ireland could fully meet the home demand for various classes of hosiery.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Hosiery Factories.
The number of hosiery factories returned in the Census of Production, 1946, was 58, and a later inquiry made in 1948 showed the number as 65. The number of persons employed throughout the year varies from 4,100 to 5,500. The total gross output, as ascertained in 1946, was £2,334,790 a year. The latest figures available, those for 1946, show that the total consumption of hosiery goods, home-produced and imported, was valued for £3,680,000. Owing to the exceptional circumstances of the emergency, it is not possible to state at present the value of the normal home demand. In 1938 the existing factories met about 80 per cent. of the home demand.