Vol. 223 No. 7
asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will suggest to Bord na Móna that its sales of turf briquettes and sod turf be rationalised so that ample supplies will be available to retail merchants for sale to the household consumer who must buy in small quantities.
4.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether the demands of the ESB for turf briquettes must be met by Bord na Móna before turf briquettes are made available for sale to retail merchants.
I propose with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.
Out of each year's production Bord na Móna makes provision for the supply of turf on the basis of the following priorities:—(1) ESB power stations: these stations use sod and milled peat but not briquettes. Their use of milled peat which is also required for production of briquettes will affect the supply of briquettes in a year when milled peat production falls below target; (2) industrial and institutional customers with whom the Board has fixed commitments; (3) cheap fuel schemes operated by local authorities for the supply of turf to necessitous households; and (4) the domestic market to which the balance available after meeting the priority requirements set out above is allocated.
During the past few years there has been a shortage of both machine turf and briquettes for the domestic market owing to adverse weather conditions which made it impossible for the Board to reach its production targets and at the same time created an increased demand due to the failure of hand-won turf.
Since July, 1963, briquettes for the domestic market have been allocated to merchants on the basis of their 1962-63 purchases. During the past year allocations have had to be cut back to 50 per cent due to the restrictions on briquette production arising from the bad milled peat harvest. It is not possible to say yet what the position will be in the coming year.
Consideration is being given by Bord na Móna to the possibility of introducing a similar allocation system for machine turf should the quantity available for the domestic market continue to fall seriously short of the demand. No decision on this matter can be taken before the end of the turf production season.
