Vol. 257 No. 10
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the effects the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement has had on the boot and shoe industry in respect of production, imports, exports, closures and redundancies; and, what steps, if any, he proposes to take to safeguard the industry.
69.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the likely effects on the boot and shoe industry of entry into the Common Market; and, having regard to the state of the industry, if he will secure special protection for it before irreparable harm is caused.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 69 together. It is not possible to isolate the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Agreement from other factors which have affected the footwear industry in recent years. As I informed the Deputy in reply to a question on the 15th July, there have been discussions with the British authorities about the footwear industry. These discussions have taken place in accordance with the provisions in Article 1 (5) of the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement for dealing with industries that have encountered or are threatened with difficulties as a result of the operation of the Agreement. The discussion have not yet been concluded and, in the meantime, as the Deputy is aware, the tariff reduction on leather footwear which was due to take place on 1st July, 1971 has been suspended.
As regards the effects on the industry of this country's entry to the EEC the position is that there are safeguard provisions in the Treaty of Rome which can be availed of should the industry be confronted with serious difficulties.
How does the Minister come to the conclusion that he cannot isolate the effect of the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement on footwear? The quantity of footwear coming into this country from the United Kingdom prior to the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement was negligible, whereas now the country is flooded with English footwear. He seems to have plenty of writing there; it must have been a very difficult question. Could I ask the Minister why he was not able to compare the year before the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement came into operation with last year, 1970? Would that not give us the answer?
I was not asked that question.
The Minister said he could not isolate the effects of the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement. I have indicated a simple way to do it.
The Deputy referred to the increased importation of shoes from the United Kingdom, but, in fact, the majority of complaints in regard to imports and their effect on the shoe industry here arises from imports from other countries apart altogether from the United Kingdom.
The Minister indicated that the complaints in regard to imports did not necessarily refer to Britain, that there were other countries as well. Could the Minister tell us what was the percentage increase in shoe imports from Great Britain?
I am not in a position to answer that.
Could the Minister say what industry, apart from footwear, did not have the tax reduction in July of this year? Was consideration given to any other industry?
There were other industries. I spelt them out on a couple of occasions in the House recently: domestic electrical appliances and a number of other items where there was a stand-still on the reduction of duty as from 1st July.
