asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if there is on the files of his Department a letter dated the 22nd May, 1948, from the Irish Cycle Manufacturing Company, Limited, to his Department, and if he will state (a) if any decision on the matters raised therein has as yet been reached, and (b) if any communication other than a formal acknowledgment was sent to the firm between the 22nd May, 1948, and the 21st April, 1949.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Letter from Cycle Company.
The letter referred to is on the relevant file in my Department. It involved very important issues which were under examination when a new proposal was made by this company in October, 1948, which raised further issues. Subsequently a complete modification of the proposals was made by the company at an interview with officers of my Department in February, 1949; and certain information for which the company was asked in connection with the modified proposals was supplied to my Department in May, 1949. Apart from oral discussions, no direct correspondence took place with the company between the dates mentioned and no decision on the matters raised has yet been reached.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that any modification of the proposals made by the company was made at the suggestion of the officials of the Parliamentary Secretary's Department and, further, that the position is that no decisive or definite answer has been received to the letter of 22nd May, 1948?
As I have already told the Deputy, the company itself made an application, with modified proposals, later in 1948. It is true that there was subsequently an interview between officers of the Department of Industry and Commerce and representatives of the company, but as the modified application involved the imposition of a duty, and as any application for the imposition of a duty must be fully documented in regard to price, quality, potential output and so forth, and as there was no evidence from the company of the contemplated output or the price or the source from which supplies would be drawn, it was not possible to give a decision.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary not aware that there was no modification by the company of its proposals save such modification as was made at the instance of the Department's officials in an effort to get a decision on the letter of the 22nd May last year?
The company first applied for a quota. They then intimated to the Department that there was a possibility of American capital. That proposal was made in October, 1948, and it involved other issues. In January of this year the company applied for a tariff. As I have already told the Deputy, the question of a tariff involves facts which must be supported by documentary evidence. The latest information is now being examined.