asked the Minister for Lands if he will state (i) what factories have been established in County Galway for the treatment of seaweed; (ii) what processes are carried on in them; (iii) how the quantity of seaweed used compares with that formerly exported or used for kelp-making; and (iv) what functions, if any, his Department exercises in respect to them.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Treatment of Seaweed (County Galway).
The answers to the Deputy's queries are as follows:— (i) Two factories have been established in County Galway for the treatment of seaweed, one in Galway City and the other at Kilkerrin, Connemara; (ii) in both factories seaweed is artificially dried and reduced to meal; (iii) no true comparison is possible between the quantities of seaweed used and that formerly exported or used for kelp-making, since neither factory is yet in full-scale production. The value to the gatherers of the seaweed used in these factories will, it is hoped, be at least equal to the value of that formerly exported or used for kelp-making; (iv) the Department organises the collection and delivery of the seaweed required by the factories and arranges for the payment of the gatherers.