andMr. McQuillan asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether any facts are yet available concerning the likely redundancy figures from the survey recommended by the National Employer-Labour Conference 1962.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - EEC: Redundancy in Industry.
42.
While the National Employer/Labour Conference recommended that some system be devised whereby it would be possible to know when, and in what numbers, workers were becoming redundant throughout the country they did not recommend a survey on the lines suggested in the question.
As I have already told the House the reports prepared by the Conference are under consideration in my Department and other Departments concerned.
Does there not appear to be a discrepancy in the Minister's reply to the Question relating to the Verolme Dockyard and this reply? The Minister said, in regard to the former, that he did not consider it appropriate to ask firms for information in regard to redundancy. In answer to this question, he suggests that it is likely he will be able to get some sort of figures of the possible redundancy.
The subcommittee of the National Employer/Labour Conference referred to by the Deputies dealt, in the main, with information available to employment exchanges as to the extent of redundancy that may take place and what alternative employment would be available to meet this redundancy. It was in that context I construed the Deputies' Question and it was in that context the Employer/Labour Conference dealt with the matter.
Could the Minister say what his plans are for finding out what the likely redundancy will be? Is there any specific survey under way?
The CIO have, through their working parties, such a survey.
Surely they restrict this to limited industries? Is the Minister going to restrict himself to limited groups of industries or will he find out from limited groups what their redundancy is likely to be?
Between the CIO and the special section I have established in my Department, I expect to get as comprehensive a picture as possible of the entire sector, but, in the meantime, the scientific studies, if one can call them that, have been limited to industries surveyed by the CIO.
Could the Minister say whether he proposes to issue from time to time the likely redundancy figure or will he wait until the picture for the whole country is completed?
If so, how long does he think this will take?
The possible redundancies are mentioned in the CIO reports and the measures whereby redundancy can be avoided are also mentioned. This is not an exercise in which one can get, once and for all, a complete picture. No one can say what will happen and, therefore, it has to be a continuing operation.
43.
andMr. McQuillan asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce what is the total number of persons likely to be disemployed as a result of full membership by this country of the EEC, as ascertained so far by the investigations of the Committee on Industrial Organisations into the boot and shoe, the cotton and rayon, and other similar industries.
44.
andMr. McQuillan asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether, in order to increase production by fifty per cent in the cotton and linen industry, as advised in the report of the Committee on Industrial Organisation, it will be necessary to disemploy at least 1,000 of the employees.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 44 together.
If the recommendations in the survey report of the Committee on Industrial Organisation on the cotton, linen and rayon industry are implemented, and the volume of output increased by 40 per cent to 50 per cent, it is hoped that there will be no disemployment in this industry as a result of this country's entry to the Common Market.
If the Committee's recommendations in their survey report on the Leather Footwear industry are implemented, full membership of the EEC would not give rise to disemployment in the industry.
The reports of the Committee on other industries, according as they become available, will provide estimates of the effects of membership on employment in those industries.