asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if he is aware that sod peat sales on Bord na Móna bogs have been reduced substantially this year, that small contractors who normally purchase and distribute turf are not getting any supplies, that private buyers who traditionally purchase this turf are being told that no turf can be collected by them until February 1980 at the earliest although their orders are being accepted and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Sod Peat Sales.
342.
I have been informed by Bord na Móna that the sustained increase in demand for machine turf, plus the limitation of production caused by bad weather in the 1979 harvesting season, have made it necessary for the board to introduce certain controls on sales to ensure fair and orderly distribution of available supplies to their customers.
Merchants who bought machine turf direct from the board in the period October 1978 to March 1979 inclusive are being allocated quantities corresponding to their purchases in that period.
Private customers are being provided with supplies under an advance booking system under which they are required to contact the works in order to be advised of collection arrangements.
While the overall quantity of machine turf available for direct purchase by private consumers corresponds closely with the amounts available last winter in the October to March period, it is not possible for the board to guarantee that each prospective customer can be provided with a supply. Under the advance booking system, orders are taken in strict rotation. However the loading capacity of the board's works is fully committed up to the end of December and in some cases well into the new year. This means that varying delays occur in the completion of some customers' orders depending on the bog involved and the date on which the order was placed.