asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will make a statement on the policy adopted by Bord na Móna in the distribution of turf briquettes; and if they have a quota system in operation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Distribution of Turf Briquettes.
20.
Owing to an extremely bad milled peat harvesting season this year production of milled peat for electricity generation and briquette manufacture was only about 55 per cent of requirements. After allowing for the minimum quantity of milled peat required for the operation of the milled peat generating stations, the quantity of milled peat likely to be available for briquette manufacture will be sufficient only to permit of production on a greatly reduced scale.
Bord na Móna are doing their best to distribute supplies of briquettes as equitably as possible.
During the past two years the demand for turf briquettes has been well in excess of production and in order to ensure an equitable distribution of the supplies available for the domestic sector the Board has introduced an allocation system.
Under this system supplies of briquettes are restricted to merchants who purchased direct from the Board in the year ended June, 1963, when briquettes were freely available. Normally the Board has been in a position to allocate to these merchants quantities approximating to what they bought in the year ended June, 1963, but this year, owing to the very bad milled peat harvesting season, rationing has had to be resorted to. Factories and institutions using briquettes are, however, getting their requirements in full.