andMr. T. Lynch asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the number of new factories established in the State from 30th April, 1957, up to 30th June, 1959, the number established in Dublin City and County, and the number established in the rest of the State during the same period.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Establishment of New Factories.
49.
The number of new industrial concerns and extensions to existing concerns which came to my notice as having commenced production in the period from 30th April, 1957, to 30th June, 1959 is 214. Of these 121 were in Dublin City and County and 93 were in the remainder of the country.
There may, of course, have been others of which there is no official record.
Do I take it that the Government have no policy of decentralisation in these matters?
The Deputy is entirely wrong. As he knows, there are incentives for factories established in the undeveloped areas and obviously from these figures, there has been some degree of success.
The figures do not bear out the Minister's statement.
On the contrary, 93 new factories and extensions have been promoted in the country areas.
Could the Minister indicate to us whether this is a clear increase in the number of factories or whether some of the factories, to which he has adverted, have in fact been erected at the cost of closing down other factories?
I have no information of that sort.
I can provide the Minister with plenty.
If the Deputy wants to introduce that banshee element into a sincere effort, he is entitled to do so.
I am referring to the fact that the Minister has included in his list a factory set up in Mullingar at the expense of closing two other factories in Cork county.
How many of the 93 factories actually include extensions?
Out of the total number, there were in Dublin city and county 46 entirely new factories, and in the remainder of the country, 44. There were 75 extensions in Dublin city and county and 49 extensions in the country.
The Minister was a right banshee when he was "ochoning" about the cattle trade.