I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The purpose of this Bill is to continue the Control of Exports (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1956, which is due to expire on the 19th February next. Under that Act, the Minister for Industry and Commerce is empowered to prohibit by Order the exportation of industrial goods save under licence issued by him. At present, there is a number of goods subject to export control under the general Control of Exports Order which was made in 1958 under the powers conferred by the Act. Orders made under the Act have a life of 12 months only and require to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. A resolution annulling an Order can be a passed here at any time during the currency of the Order. The time has not yet come when the export controls may be dispensed with. Accordingly, it will be necessary to continue these powers for some further time and that is why this Bill is being moved.
The need to maintain these powers to control export in certain cases arises from the importance of conserving for the benefit of home industry some raw materials which are continuing to be or which possibly may become in short supply. Consequently, this Bill is to enable us to fulfil our international commitment to prevent strategic materials which may not be exported from other countries into Iron Curtain countries from being sent through this country. In other words, our aim is to secure that this country will not be used as a base through which such materials may be sent into these Iron Curtain countries from third countries.
Another aim of the Bill is to have immediately available a means of dealing with the situation which would arise in the event of the development of an international emergency of any kind in which the country might be drained of essential materials before corrective legislation could be passed by the Oireachtas.
I should perhaps mention that the possibility of maintaining export controls of this sort in a Free Trade Area is one of the matters discussed at the Paris negotiations and in connection with which we have been seeking the possibility of preserving these powers for a period.
The number of goods subject to export control has very substantially been reduced but, in respect of those to which it still applies, it is important that it should be maintained.