asked the Minister for Finance if he will state what action, if any, he has taken to correct the erroneous figures contained in his Budget statement (Official Report, column 1142 of Volume 130) concerning the number of motor vehicles registered and what action he proposes to take to ensure that in future misleading figures are not used or furnished to the Dáil by him.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Budget Statement: Registration of Motor Vehicles.
The Deputy, in effect, is asking what have I done to doctor the Official Report in Volume 130, column 1142, of the passage in my Budget statement relating to the proposed increase in the duty on petrol and oils. The answer is nothing, for it is not my practice to resort to such dubious devices to cover up what was clearly a typographical omission.
What will the Taoiseach say?
I had intended to deal with this matter when replying to the debate on the General Financial Resolution. The Deputy's question has, however, presented me with an earlier opportunity which I am glad to avail of in order to clarify the record.
The portion of my speech in which the omission occurred should have read as a whole as follows:—
"Despite last year's increase from 1/2 to 1/4 per gallon in the duty on petrol, the upward trend in consumption continued, duty being paid last year on some 68,500,000 gallons as compared with 45,500,000 gallons in 1948-49 and 63,800,000 gallons in 1950-51. There has also been a spectacular increase in the registration of motor vehicles, which numbered 73,813 in 1939, 122,536 in 1949 and 155,982 in 1951. The number of motor-driving licences issued manifested a corresponding trend, being 99,662 in 1939, 173,234 in 1949 and 223,444 in 1951."
Deputy Morrissey's intervention in the debate has demonstrated to everyone that the statistics relating to motor-vehicle registration and driving licences have, in fact, been published and are readily available to the public. There would be no point, therefore, in omitting any of the relevant figures from the Financial Statement. What, in fact, happened was that the following words were inadvertently omitted from the text:—
"73,813 in 1939, 122,536 in 1949 and 155,982 in 1951. The number of motor-driving licences issued manifested a corresponding trend, being"
It will be noted that the figures for motor-vehicle registrations which were omitted justify to the full my statement that there has been a spectacular increase in motor-vehicle registrations and wholly corroborate the evidence to the same effect which is afforded by the increase in the number of motor-driving licences issued. There is, indeed, a very close correspondence between the two sets of figures and the upward trend which they manifest.
Thus, while the registration of motor vehicles in 1949 showed an increase of 66 per cent. over 1939, the increase in driving licences issued over the same period was 73.8 per cent. Again, in 1951, the number of motor vehicles registered showed an increase of no less than 27.3 per cent. over 1949, while over the same period the increase in the number of driving licences closely corresponded to this at 28.9 per cent. When we add to these facts the further one that, whereas the consumption of petrol in 1948-49 was only 45.5 million gallons, it was 63.8 million gallons in 1950-51, and last year, despite the increase in the petrol tax for which my predecessor was responsible, rose to 68.5 millions, the conclusion, as stated in my Budget speech, is inescapable.
Having regard to the fact that the Minister now admits having furnished to the House misleading and false figures, will he now reply to the last portion of my question, where I asked him what steps he will take in future to ensure that the House will not be furnished with false and misleading figures by him?
The figures could mislead nobody but an infant in arms.
Except the Department of Finance and the Minister, who apparently used them in this House. Will the Minister answer the last portion of the question?
asked the Minister for Finance if he will state whether, having regard to the error made by him in his Budget statement as to the number of motor vehicles registered in 1951, he will arrange to have all the other figures, calculations and computations contained in his Budget statement checked by the Central Statistics Office and furnish to the Dáil the result of such investigation by the Central Statistics Office.
The answer is in the negative.
Having regard to the fact that the Minister has supplied false and misleading figures to the House, does he not consider that it would be advisable in future to have the figures supplied by him and the Department of Finance checked by somebody else, to ensure that these mistakes will not happen again?
The Deputy is obviously a follower of the late Mr. Hitler when he continues to suggest this falsehood that I furnished misleading figures to the House. I did not furnish misleading figures to the House.
The Minister used misleading and false figures and should not have done so.
Was it not a pity that the Minister did not have that page open with the figures and then one of the readers of the Irish Times might have corrected them?
The circulation of the Irish Times would have declined.