Would the Minister inform us whether he has made any study of the cost of tea at the rate of 3/- a lb. on the taxpayers down here, subsidising the Six County consumers? I am sure the Minister at least has been looking at the outgoings of tea month by month or week by week. Could he give us a calculation as to how much the Twenty-Six County taxpayer is paying by way of subsidy to the Northern tea consumer?
Private Deputies' Business. - Customs (Temporary) Provisions Act, 1945 (Continuance) Bill, 1955—Committee and Final Stages.
Section 1 agreed to.
SECTION 2.
Question proposed: "That Section 2 stand part of the Bill."
This is a repetition of the question the Deputy asked the other day. At the risk of repetition on my side, I repeat what I said to him then, that unfortunately those gentlemen who indulge in smuggling operations do not fill in returns showing what they have dealt with but it is our belief that there has been comparatively little smuggling of tea, that in fact the position has been that anything in that respect has been to date infinitesimal. If we did not get the powers for which we ask in this Bill, however, the situation might be created in which there would be difficulties of the kind visualised by Deputy Aiken. I am not in a position to give him any figures and all I can say to him is that in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners the amount involved is not of any grave consequence.
Has the Minister made inquiries or is he keeping his eye on the figures of the withdrawals of tea from week to week or from month to month?
Question put and agreed to.
Section 3 and the Title agreed to.
Bill reported without amendment.
Agreed to take the remaining stages now.
Question—"That the Bill be received for final consideration"—put and agreed to.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
Would the Minister indicate to the House that he will keep an eye on the withdrawal of tea from stores and be able to answer a parliamentary question as to how much the difference of 3/- a lb. is costing the Twenty-Six County taxpayer in the subsidisation of the Northern consumer?
Would the Minister, too, in keeping that check on the withdrawal of tea from stocks, estimate what amount of money would be got by those who drew this tea from stocks if those who sought to have tea increased in price in this way had their way?
You know how much the subsidy is costing us.
Mr. Lemass
It is a good job we did not do what the Deputy was suggesting and depend on the British market.
It would be another 3/-.
The withdrawals to date have been at the same rate as last year. Might I suggest to the Deputy that, as he represents a constituency up there, he should keep an eye open to ensure that in the northern part of his constituency there is nothing like the leakage he suggests?
The Minister is being facetious about a weighty problem of taxation.
Question put and agreed to.