asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce what reduction the consumer may expect in the price of the pint of stout due to the fact that the price of next season's malting barley has been reduced by 9/- per barrel.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Price of Stout.
As the stout and porter to be brewed during the current year will be produced from barley purchased at the higher price, the question of an immediate reduction in the price of the pint of stout does not arise. The position will, however, be subject to review when the lower-priced malting barley from the 1952 crop becomes available to the brewing industry.
If the price was fixed on the recommendation of the Prices Advisory Body, is there not a case to refer it back for further review? Is it not a fact that the price of barley was fixed by Deputy Corry and not by the Minister for Industry and Commerce?
That statement is not true.
It is true.
And the Deputy knows it is not true.
You told me yourself.
I thought the person who asks a question is entitled to ask a supplementary question. The supplementary question I was about to ask the Minister was this: when the Prices Advisory Body decided that 1d. should be put on the price of a pint of stout they stated that that was, to a degree, owing to the increased price of barley and to other increased costs. Even these combined costs did not justify the 1d. increase and an undertaking was got from the brewers that they would increase the gravity of their stout to justify the 1d. increase. Now, there is a reduction of 9/- a barrel for barley. Will the Minister tell us is that going to go into the British Exchequer in the form of excess profits as it did before, or is it going to go to the consumer of stout in this country?
It is difficult to answer that question now. The position will be reviewed when this year's barley comes into use, reviewed both in relation to a variation of other costs and the practicability of reflecting that reduction in the price of barley in the price of stout. The increase in the price of barley this year did not by itself justify the whole of the increase of 1d. per pint in stout. There were other costs involved, and even then there was the necessity of adjusting the position in favour of the consumer by increasing the gravity.
Will the Minister agree that in the past, when the price of barley in this country was artificially depressed, the result of that was that the British Exchequer got considerable sums of money running into millions of pounds in the form of excess profits from Messrs. Guinness because they are a British registered company?
I do not know whether that is so or not. There are, of course, other brewers of stout in this country besides Messrs. Guinness.
Will the Minister say whether the price fixed this year for barley is in excess of that paid by one of the Cork brewers last year and will he give the producers an increase now to make up to them for this increase in the price of malting barley?
And which price they did not pay.