asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether any decision has yet been reached in the consultations between the Government and Irish Shipping Ltd., on the subject of the demand by a United States Federal Maritime Commission to Irish Shipping to produce certain documents; and, if so, what decision has been reached, and the reasons for this decision.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Shipping Limited: Production of Documents.
48.
Irish Shipping Ltd., as a member of the North Atlantic West-bound Freight Association, has been called upon to produce certain documents wherever located in pursuance of an enquiry by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission concerning payment of commissions to forwarding agents and charges for forwarding services in respect of shipments from ports in this country and Great Britain to certain United States Atlantic coast ports.
I have informed Irish Shipping Ltd. that, in so far as the documents concerned relate to activities of the Company outside United States territory, I could not accept that the jurisdiction of the United States Federal Maritime Commission applies and that I could not therefore approve of compliance with the Commission's request in respect of such documents.
I have asked the Minister for External Affairs to make representations through our Embassy in Washington to the U.S. State Department with a view to securing a withdrawal of the demands of the Federal Maritime Commission relating to the production of documents by Irish Shipping Ltd.