There are one or two matters which I wish to raise in connection with my constituency, and this is the only opportunity I have of doing so. The first issue is the question of Ballina and its future and with that I couple the future of the port. I am anxious to bring to the attention of the Minister the fact that it was proposed to establish a factory in Ballina about the year 1938. When the Minister is replying I hope he will explain how it came about that while the permit was issued in 1938 or 1939 in respect of the establishment of the factory in Ballina—immediately previous to the outbreak of the war—it was eventually transferred to another county. I want to refer to what happened, and I shall be brief. A firm of foreign factory promoters selected Ballina as a suitable site for a factory. As far as I know the permit was issued. After the issue of the permit, the next step was to find out what interest the local people would take in the working of the factory, and its prospects of progress and success. For that reason a local contribution was asked for. As far as I remember the figure was in the neighbourhood of £10,000 and, inside a week, the money was put up by the local people of Ballina. Later, what happened? The war broke out and, as a result, the scheme had to be postponed during the war years. All during that time the people of Ballina were hopeful that the matter would be settled and that, in the ordinary way, the factory would be established and put into operation Shortly after the end of the war we discovered, much to our surprise, that the permit in respect of the establishment of the factory at Ballina was transferred to another county, and that Ballina was, therefore, at a loss in that regard. That has caused great annoyance to the people in the area of Ballina, and to the younger people who depend on local employment. If this factory had been set up in Ballina it would give employment to a large percentage of the young people who are growing up in that town, whereas, at the moment, the outlook is not too hopeful. I hope the Minister, when he is replying, will let me know who was responsible for the transfer of the permit in question to another county. Is it that the promoters of the factory were responsible and, in any event, why is it that the local representatives of North Mayo, and those who represent Ballina, were not informed of the transfer of the permit from Ballina to another county? I represent North Mayo and I would point out that I heard nothing about a proposal to transer the permit. The first I heard of the matter was when I was given to understand that the permit had been transferred from North Mayo to another county, with the result that the factory would not be built at Ballina. At the present time it does not look hopeful that in the near future a factory will be established in Ballina. That is a serious state of affairs for a town like Ballina—a town with a population that has grown roughly from 5,000 to 7,000 people. When it was first suggested that a factory would be established in Ballina there were some middle-aged men who were anxious and keen on the project. They were younger men then than they are now. A period of ten or 12 years makes a big difference at a certain time in the life of a middle-aged man. Therefore, it would seem now as if younger people will have to face the problem and the responsibility of the provision of a factory or an industry in Ballina.
My second point, which I couple with the first, is the repair and maintenance of Ballina quay. During the emergency that quay was left practically derelict. After the cessation of hostilities it began to be possible again to import certain commodities and to export certain goods and boats were gradually coming back to the port. However, as a result of all the years during which the port was not used, it is in a very bad condition and it is almost impossible to import or to export from the quay. The harbour commissioners at Ballina have made an application for a grant and they are hopeful of an early decision. If the harbour commissioners do not get some assistance by way of a Government grant I can see no hope of trading vessels coming into Ballina or leaving it. I can see no hope of that benefit or assistance as far as the people of my constituency are concerned. Previous to the change of Government the bigger ports really had a monopoly and the smaller ports of this country were only an after-consideration. For instance, Sligo had special concessions and Dublin had special concessions. The small ports were, I might say, practically forgotten. That is a serious state of affairs for an area such as North Mayo, where there is practically no rail service and no delivery service except by road. With only a small corner of the constituency served by the railway, the port was a great advantage and a great benefit to the area as a whole. It had the advantage of being in competition with freight charges on the road and on the railway. The result was that the people in the area derived a double benefit from the point of view of a near acceptance of goods and competition as far as freight and delivery charges were concerned. I appeal to the Minister to make provision so that the application by the Ballina Harbour Commissioners for a grant towards the repair of the quay at Ballina will be given favourable consideration, thus giving us an opportunity of bringing the quay back to such a state that it will be used once more and give a good return again, as far as the port is concerned.
I now want to speak about the turf industry in the County Mayo. I, like other Deputies, was disappointed to find that Bord na Móna had decided to cease producing machine-won turf in Mayo. Let no one imagine that because the production of machine-won turf has stopped in Mayo the production of hand-won turf has ceased. At the start I had my doubts about the introduction of machines for the production of turf in such a huge area as North Mayo, where, I may say, there is a big consumption of hand-won turf. I felt that the introduction of the machines might do more injury than good in that area and that the people engaged on the production of hand-won turf were not going to benefit by the introduction of the machines. There were areas that did benefit from the introduction of the machines, but these were areas in which they had good roads and good bogs. These were areas, too, in which the workers had to be taken for miles by lorry for the production of the machine-won turf. What killed and stopped the sale of machine-won turf in my area was the cost of it. In my county you could get the best hand-won turf at about 18/- a ton in the bog or on the roadside. The machine-won turf cost 39/6 a ton on the roadside. Does any Deputy imagine that any common-sense person in my county is going to pay 39/6 a ton for machine-won turf when he can get an equally good article at 18/- a ton? No provision has been made for the sale of the machine-won turf which was produced over a number of years. It is still there. I am a member of the local authority, and certainly my colleagues and myself are in favour of giving first preference to the hand-won turf so far as all the public institutions in the county are concerned.
There has been an awful lot of talk about turf. The turf industry in Mayo is finished. The result is that we have not sufficient hand-won turf in my county. It is impossible to get a ton of it. Bord na Móna has the machine-won turf on the roadside, but the people are not going to pay 39/6 a ton for it. Its production was paid for out of the revenue collected from the people. If the Minister wants to dispose of it he will have to reduce the price and sell it at a loss. What has happened in regard to it is not going to result in a continuance of machine-won turf.
A lot has been said about the cost of living. A number of speakers on the other side have said that the cost of living has increased. I think the Deputies who make these statements should try and refresh their memories and compare the cost of certain articles since the change of Government took place and their cost before the change of Government took place. Deputies opposite have told us that the price of tea, sugar, flour, bread, butter, bacon and eggs has increased. I think that if Deputies will take the years 1946 and 1947 they will find that there was a big difference in the prices then charged for tea, sugar, bread and flour, compared with the prices which have been charged to the consumer for these commodities in 1948 and 1949. It would be very interesting if the Minister would give the retail price of tea which the consumer had to pay in November, 1947, also the retail price of sugar up to that year, as well as the retail price of flour and of the 2 lb. loaf, in comparison with the prices which the consumer has to pay for these commodities since the change of Government took place. If the Minister does that, I think it will be found that, while the consumer has had the same ration, he has had it at a lower price on the average during the last two years.
So far as butter is concerned, there is no doubt but that there was a black market in it. The same thing happened in the case of bacon and at a certain period in regard to eggs. I do not think anybody can deny that. As regards eggs, we had the lorries and the vans going through the country at a certain period of the year. There was no question as regards price. All that the people with the vans were concerned with was what they could get. Price did not matter. At that time the price of eggs was controlled here in the city. The price was not controlled last year, and so the vans and the black market have disappeared.
A Deputy from South Mayo, speaking on this Estimate last week, said:
"It is true that the cost of living has increased, irrespective of how the official index figure may cloak the increase. The housewife knows that the cost of all household goods has gone up in price."
I say that is wrong. They have not gone up in price, and that is why I asked the Minister earlier to give the figures that he must have in regard to the commodities that I have mentioned. If he does that, I think he will be able to show, despite the statement made by this Deputy, that prices, instead of having gone up, have over the period of the last two years come down. This Deputy from South Mayo went on to say:
"Some Deputy mentioned to-day that we no longer have a black market in this country. Since the advent of this Government and of the Minister we have had a Government black market in tea, sugar, butter, flour and bread..."
That is a statement made by a Deputy from South Mayo. On behalf of the people of North Mayo, I want to say that there was a black market there but that the new regulation of the non-subsidised tea, sugar and flour has done away with it. If it has not done away with the black market in South Mayo, it has done so in North Mayo. If it is correct that there is a black market in South Mayo, I would like, as a Mayo man, to see it stopped and it would serve a useful purpose if the people responsible were made pay the penalty. There was a black market in North Mayo, but it is finished, thank God; it was hard to root out, but the change of Government did that.
