It is very difficult to have two loyalties. I agree we should have many more agricultural advisers, but I do not intend to put an end to, or extend the proposal of Deputy Dillon. I hope the time will come when a method will be found whereby the men so appointed will have their services fully utilised, but I am a believer that the county committee of agriculture is the best method of securing the ends desired. Deputies will excuse me if I have to neglect some aspects of the debate, but there are a few important points to which I must refer.
There has been much talk of wheat. Deputy Rooney is not alone in his desire to elucidate my views on wheat and to point to the fact that Fianna Fáil has been entirely delinquent in regard to any wheat policy. The attitude of the Opposition to the growing of wheat has suffered a sad sea change. We on this side of the House are quite accustomed to listen to the story that the growing of wheat destroyed the fertility of the land, that farmers who undertook its production had transmuted themselves into miners and that the terror of this green island becoming a dust bowl was imminent if the Fianna Fáil policy of growing wheat was continued.
I remember a very famous expression by my predecessor. I shall not repeat it. All the Dismal Jemmies have disappeared. We hear no more the jeremiads. Now the concern is for a 100 per cent. Irish loaf and, as a concomitant, a price for wheat that will remove all incentive for good husbandry. That will result merely in agricultural depression and an economic sanction on all sections of the community. Modern conditions and standards of living ensure that no country can be entirely self-sufficient if it is to meet the demands of its nationals. The disadvantage of living in an economically air-tight compartment was brought home to us ten or 12 years ago. International trade may impose many disabilities but it has operated, on the whole, to the benefit of mankind. But a nation ought to be self-sufficient in the material things, the production of which its resources permit.
I am a believer in the 100 per cent. Irish loaf. Our increased production, of which Deputy Dillon speaks so joyously, comes as a result of the broadening of our field of production, not because we have in general made spectacular advances in any field. We have not. We are on our way, I think, but we have not done it so far. When I saw the possibility of a 20,000 ton surplus of butter, to take Deputy Rooney's figures, I attributed the fact to a very substantial increase in milk production. There is not such an increase.
The fact is that we have 100,000 more cows supplying milk to creameries now than we had, say, 20 years ago. The sad fact still is that the increase in milk production as delivered to creameries has gone up by fewer than 30 gallons per cow. Will Deputies agree with me that if we could produce cows that would give us 600 or 700 gallons our problems about the disposal of butter in a foreign market would be much easier?
Worthwhile and permanent achievement is always an objective that is slowly reached. I think we are tending towards a higher production in milk yearly, but it will not be revolutionary in one year or two. We shall not in any sphere secure an achievement by merely gazing at the picture of the accomplished fact but as the result of a wisely considered policy and of an undeviating and concentrated effort towards its fulfilment. A new venture, if it is to succeed, must take into consideration existing conditions. We must realise that changing conditions may result in losses for which the resultant benefits of the effort do not compensate. Everyone concerned with such a venture must examine it in the cold light of reason and, if we preserve the wheat market entirely for the Irish farmer, we shall ensure a vast expansion of production.
What price is the nation prepared to pay for that very specific advantage? What concession is the farmer prepared to make to the rest of the community for the advantage offered? Let us not swop punches about who does what. Let us, instead, get down and see what can be done. The production of the 100 per cent. Irish loaf is not merely a question of agricultural policy. It is also a question of research, of good husbandry and of national goodwill. I am prepared to discuss it in all its details with all the interests involved.
I am not concerned with making political points. I am not concerned with my political future—I have not any. Questions have been raised about marketing. I confess that, at the moment, I do not know how the money provided or any part of it can effectively be spent. I can assure Deputies that none of it will be spent unless there are reasonable grounds for believing the expenditure will result in national benefit. Deputies know that the greatest financial return to the country comes from our cattle trade. Some people whose views are obscured by other considerations or who are affected by historical statements involving a denial of the rights of the Irish people cannot appreciate its value. But cold, hard and bitter economic facts insist on acceptance of its value.
It is a trade with a long history. Those engaged in it have garnered a world of knowledge and trading experience. In my opinion, it could be very well left alone—in the hands of those who have proved their capacity for handling it. We should not attempt to introduce any system alternative to or detrimental to it. Of course, nothing remains static, and change is inevitable. It may be possible, and it may be necessary, to introduce methods supplemental to it. In the meantime, it seems to me that the handling of the cattle export trade is sufficiently satisfactory.
An all-important factor in the development of marketing is continuity of supply. The sale of a periodic surplus can hardly be regarded as marketing. If we are to market our goods with effect, our first step is an assurance to ourselves of our capacity to provide goods for that market in continuity or on seasonal demand.
I have had made to me a number of proposals in regard to this question of marketing. I assume and believe that the proposals I have had are genuine proposals. Of course, there will always be the outside lunatic fringe who will provide us with a certain amount of irritation and possible amusement in the Department. However, I propose to investigate all these proposals and try to weigh their worth.
In pointing out the hopelessness of Fianna Fáil policy and the delinquencies of the Minister, Deputies rightly refrained from criticising the service. I come into the Department of Agriculture with a rather open mind. I am not easily pushed around intellectually. I have heard so many assertions that the Department was the subject of demoniac possession that I was rather fearful on my unsatanic way in. I find, after a very short period, that the officials of the Department are as deeply concerned for the welfare of agriculture as anyone could be anywhere. I have no doubt that, in assessing the value of any proposals, the advice, experience and goodwill of all the officials will be worth while bringing to bear on those problems.
This year I hope we shall have an Institute of Agriculture. I confess that I am not entirely happy about the terms of the Bill as introduced. It seems to me that the approach to the final decision has been, in the words of Deputy Dillon, bedevilled by the pseudo-experts who float around this country. It was better expressed than that by the Deputy, naturally, but that is the meaning of it.
In the Department of Agriculture the problem of full employment for a Minister was solved many years ago. He cannot at a moment's notice or at his own convenience set aside adequate time for the serious consideration of important matters. The setting up of the institute is a matter of exceptional importance to this State. It is incumbent on me to give it the closest scrutiny and examination. I am determined, as far as I can compass it, to ensure that it shall serve its purpose, the improvement and progress of Irish agriculture, that it shall be an independent body pursuing its own purpose and that it shall not become an appendage to any existing institutions. I do not intend to read into the words of my predecessor in this regard anything other than the fact that he believes, as I believe, that the paramount purpose of the institute must be the promotion of progress in that sphere which is of such importance in our economic life.
I am not without experience of various kinds and I am not entirely devoid of the capacity for thought or for the consideration of views opposed to mine and an assessment of their value. I have a very good sense of duty, particularly of the duty which devolves on me in this regard. I am more than grateful to Deputy Dillon for the attitude he has adopted in regard to me. I hope that he and I and the members of the Dáil will succeed courageously and independently in fashioning that instrument of progress of which our agriculture is sadly in need.
Deputy Dillon asked me if the counties mentioned in my speech, for inclusion in the tuberculosis scheme, will be treated in the same fashion as Sligo and Clare. He may be assured that they will be treated exactly the same. He spoke about the problem of tuberculosis in the dairying districts. I am well aware how much more difficult and how much more intricate the problem is in those dairy districts. Without reflection on the people of the West, I am much more familar with the Munster mind. I think that where Deputy Dillon might fail to appreciate the psychology of the South, I would be in a better position to do so.
The problem of the dairy districts must be faced soon and resolutely. If this problem of bovine tuberculosis is not solved, it will mean a complete disruption of our economics. I trust that anything Deputies can do to popularise the idea and prevent any unfair criticism or objections will be done by them.
Again, as a stranger among you, I would say that Deputy Rooney need not be too worried about the mentality of the people in the dairy area. We will pull out. We know what the difficulties are and what the problems are, far better than any visiting politician. Like Deputy O'Sullivan, I have always a horror during an election of getting any help from Dublin. Of course, that applies all round. I do not think that Deputy Rooney need be worried about the future of the dairy industry. I am full of hope and confidence about agriculture. The fact that we have begun to move in regard to better production is only an initial step. We can and will go further. I find that Deputy Rooney and a lot of these Dublin City men——
