I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £76,740 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 1951, for Salaries and Expenses in connection with Gaeltacht Services, including Housing Grants and the purchase and sale of Homespuns.
The Estimate for Gaeltacht Services shows a net increase of £50,733 over the sum provided for the previous year, 1949-50.
The activities of the Gaeltacht Services Division cover rural industries, marine industries and the administration of the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts as well as certain miscellaneous services.
Provision for the rural industries is made under the D sub-heads of the Vote, the marine industries under the E sub-heads and housing under the H sub-heads, while sub-head G provides for the miscellaneous services. Of the other sub-heads of the Vote, A, B and C provide for the expenses of administration and sub-head F for the expenses of Gaeltarra Éireann—the Central Marketing Depot. Receipts, which in the main represent the proceeds of the sale of the products of the various industries, are dealt with under sub-head I.
The sub-heads which provide for administration show little variation from last year's provision—the increases in the salary sub-heads A and F (1) being due to the normal salary increments of the members of the staff.
The installation of its own telephone exchange in the division has caused an increase of £680 in sub-head C.
The D sub-heads for rural industries cover provision for the salaries and travelling expenses of technical staff and provision for machinery, materials and other manufacturing expenses. The purchase of machinery required for the spinning and knitwear industries is provided for under sub-head D (5), while machinery for the toy-making industry is provided for under sub-head D (8) (4). There is provision this year for the purchase of the second pair of spinning mules required to complete the spinning plant. Provision is also being made for the purchase of machinery in connection with the reorganisation and development of the knitwear industry. The expenditure provided for machinery for the toy industry relates in the main to machinery for the manufacture of dolls' heads and body parts which until now had to be purchased.
Manufacturing materials for the tweed, embroidery and knitwear industries are provided for under sub-heads D (6) and D (9) while manufacturing materials for the toy industry are purchased under sub-head D (8). Taking the sub-heads D (6) and D (9) together the provision now being made is approximately the same as the provision last year. Provision for the manufacturing materials for the toy industry shows an increase of £14,000. This industry is showing good progress and it is, therefore, necessary to provide more materials for it.
The sub-heads D (10) and D (12) concern homespuns and leaden models respectively and in each case only a token provision is made for the present year.
The position as regards the homespun industry has not changed materially during the last year. Strenuous efforts have been and are being made to find a market for the large stocks which we hold. Our efforts have been successful only to a small extent but we intend to keep on trying. As things are at present I could not recommend the provision of money to purchase further stocks of homespuns. Should the demand for the material quicken during the coming year I shall be prepared to reconsider the position.
Leaden models have lost favour in the market since the close of the war but this was not unanticipated and Gaeltacht services took the precaution of developing other types of toys which were in greater demand on the market, such as the manufacture of dolls' heads and body parts.
Sub-head E (3) provides for the purchase of seaweed. In the main, the provision in the Estimate relates to the purchase of sea-rods for a company in which the State holds a majority interest, a token provision only having been made for the purchase of kelp and other seaweeds. Deputies will be pleased to hear that, due in no small measure to the passing of the Alginate Industries Act, I found it possible to increase the price of sea-rods to £4 10s. per ton which, it must be agreed, is a very steep advance on the original price of £3 per ton. I am glad to state that the prospects for the sea-rod industry seem to be particularly bright. The tonnage gathered last year was approximately 3,250 tons and we aim to more than double that tonnage as soon as possible. This is becoming a very valuable industry and is proving a wonderful asset to many people along the coast whose normal means of livelihood, a little fishing and some farming, is precarious because it is largely at the mercy of the weather.
The provision for advertising and publicity under sub-head F (2) shows a decrease of £2,000 since the experience of last year has shown that a lesser provision would be sufficient to enable us to undertake advertising and publicity to the extent required.
The main difference shown in the sub-head for housing relates to an increase of £29,150 in the sum provided for housing grants. On the enactment of the Housing (Gaeltacht) (Amendment) Act, 1949, in March of last year housing activities were greatly intensified and it is estimated that payments in respect of work under those Acts will amount to £40,000 in the coming year.
Provision is made under sub-head I for the Appropriations-in-Aid which it is estimated will come to hand. The gross amount of receipts is estimated at £282,194 as compared with last year's estimate of approximately £330,011 when the actual figures will amount to approximately £229,000. The gross estimate for receipts from rural industries at £247,500 shows a decrease of £46,200 but the actual figures for last year amounted to approximately £210,000. It is estimated that there will be paid out of the gross receipts from rural industries £80,585 in workers' wages and agents' commission which would leave net receipts of £166,915. The net receipts shown in the Estimate, however, amount only to £131,915 due to an arrangement by which net receipts over and above that amount would be accounted for as extra Exchequer receipts.
For some time past our main rural industries have had to contend with various manufacturing and marketing difficulties of which the following may be mentioned: (1) Unsettled conditions of trade both in the home and export markets; (2) an abnormal movement of trained workers from the Gaeltacht areas, and (3) delays in the delivery of the materials required to produce the goods sought for by traders. I am glad to be able to state that the home and export markets for the products of these rural industries show a definite improvement, that new trainees show a disposition to continue in the local industries and that orders for manufacturing materials are being placed sufficiently far in advance to ensure continuity of employment.