While I am raising this matter here to-night on the Adjournment of the House, I am doing so because there seems to be some mix up between the question I had down, No. 113, and the answer from the Minister. Embodied in the question is the word "investigate", whereas the reply given by the Minister stated that "development" would have to be by private enterprise. The difference between us may be only in one word, but that difference can mean an awful lot. The investigation into this whole matter is something that will give definite information as to the possibility of such a project being carried out. That is what I am seeking now.
I know that in the areas surrounding Passage West there are large deposits of limestone. That is one advantage at the start. The Minister says the area is well supplied with ground limestone—yet it is not the supply of a restricted area that I had in mind. Coupled with the availability of such a supply, there is another very important point. In Cork Harbour—and Passage West is a town on the harbour—there are millions of tons of sea mud, mud that has to be removed from that harbour every year by the Cork Harbour Board at great expense. In olden times, before modern ideas of fertilisers came into being, the farmers on at least the western and southern sides of Cork Harbour used this sea mud for top dressing their land, with very good results. That brings to mind the possibility that, if we were able to utilise the enormous amount of such material at hand free of all charge, mixing it with limestone and considering the possibility of importing phosphates, we may then be able to put on the market a fertiliser of good quality at a cheap price. In doing so, we would be doing something for Passage West area by giving employment, something that is of great importance there.
I need not say that I have not raised this question here to-night simply because the Minister is in office for a few weeks. The case of Passage West as regards employment has existed, not for three weeks or for three years but for 30 years. I believe that if this investigation were carried out we could be in a position to tell our Irish people who may be willing to invest money that there is a good possibility of their getting a financial return by investing it in such a project. In this area the people are not at present in a position financially to undertake such an investigation themselves. There are experts coming to this country advising us about the possibility of improvements in different phases of life here, telling us about the possibility of mineral development and so on; and I cannot see why it is that the responsible Department could not investigate this and give the results of such investigation to the public. Therefore, I would ask the Minister to understand that the whole point in this question has not any connection with the answer he gave. This is a matter of "investigation". I know that the Minister would naturally be interested from his own personal point of view in having the investigation carried out; and I appreciate his difficulty, as I appreciated the difficulty of his predecessor. I may say here that, a matter of a few weeks before the Dáil broke up for the general election, I had a private discussion with the Minister at that time and pointed out to him the necessity for such an investigation.
It is of no use to say that the development must be left to private concerns. That attitude has been the cause, in some parts of Ireland, of a large amount of unemployment and of the fact that we have still so many backward areas. I know there is a firm in Cork City interested in the manufacture of these fertilisers. It is of no use to us to ask such a firm to investigate the possibilities of development in the lower harbour for such an important project as this, as that is the old system of holding the markets for themselves. If we are not willing, for such an important project as this, to break away from that system whereby the markets have been left to a small number of firms, it means that, as well as denying the farmer the possibility of a good quality fertiliser, as well as denying the right of people to get work in their own districts—and unfortunately Passage West could be considered for the last 30 years as a ghost-town—we are adopting the system of leaving it to private enterprise and we are just passing the buck to someone else.
I want the Minister to understand clearly that there is no political idea behind this question to-night. It is simply the difference of the approach to his answer from the approach to the question. He has stated that the admixture of these important elements, that is, the limestone and sea mud available locally, with modern phosphates, should be a matter of private concern. This town, Passage West, is situated well in the entrance of Cork Harbour, where they have every facility for the importation of phosphates, with all the conveniences at hand. Unfortunately, the only handicap is finance. It is a sad reflection that we may have to admit that we are prepared to let all these possibilities go by and we are not willing to have even an investigation by an important Department of State into the possibility of producing such an important item for the market and giving employment.
I do not wish to delay either the House or the Minister. I want him clearly to understand that all I am asking in this question is about the matter of investigation. Even at this stage perhaps he could say that he is willing to have such an investigation carried out, combining the three important factors—local limestone, the enormous and unlimited amount of sea mud in the Cork Harbour area and imported phosphates. I may mention that the limestone quality of the hinterland of Cork is such that the mud in the area to which I refer contains many important and valuable elements. Proof of this was established recently at Cork on an analysis. Perhaps, the Minister even now can state his willingness to have the investigation carried out in relation to the limestone, the unlimited quantity of sea mud available and the possibility of having these mixed with imported phosphates. I am not asking the Minister to set up an industry there. I know that even with the greatest enthusiasm in the world the Minister could hardly do that.
If the investigation is carried out, a report published, and the results of such an important investigation put on the market, then I believe there are people in this country—God knows it is a sad thing to think that there is a large number of people who find it more suitable to invest their money in foreign concerns and in foreign countries—who will definitely go on with this important project, provided they get a fair and just return for any capital they may invest. I would again ask the Minister to realise the importance of the investigation. That is what the question is based upon.