Poultry keepers during the last few years have had the experience of having their stocks, in some cases, almost completely eliminated by certain diseases. It is considered desirable that power should be taken to deal with certain aspects of this question, such as imports of eggs and poultry, the separation of diseased poultry from healthy poultry, and, in every way, to safeguard flocks that are at present healthy. The Diseases of Animals Acts, 1894 to 1914, will be amended by this Bill, so as to include poultry in the definition of animals. By having the definition in that way we can deal with poultry in the same way as any other animals suffering from infectious diseases. Having taken that power the Minister may make orders applying to such poultry such of the provisions of the Diseases of Animals Acts, 1894 to 1914, as may be considered necessary. He may declare any disease to be a disease in poultry for the purposes of the Bill, and may require the separation of poultry affected by disease from poultry not so affected, and may also require notification of certain diseases. He may make orders for regulating the imports of poultry and eggs, or the use of eggs for hatching. Day-old chicks may be defined as poultry. A small fee will be chargeable under certain provisions of the Bill as in the Diseases of Animals Act. It is intended also to give facilities for blood tests. Any owner of poultry who may be suspicious of disease, may have a blood test made at the State Laboratory. For that purpose it is intended to appoint a special veterinary surgeon with particular qualifications. It will be possible then for any poultry keeper to have poultry tested, if necessary have the diseased ones removed and, in that way to ensure a healthy stock. Amongst the poultry in this country are very good strains, with egg laying records that hold a very high place against the rest of the world. If we were in the position of being able to guarantee our poultry free from disease, we would, possibly, reap a very big advantage in the world market for settings of eggs, for cockerels and so on, and get very big prices. At present the biggest part of that market is going to England and to the United States. We would have an advantage over any other country if we could guarantee our poultry free from disease, and would be able to compete very successfully. Under this Bill we will have not only the advantage of having ordinary commercial poultry free from disease, but of preventing huge losses, while we might have the added advantage of getting a name for our poultry amongst the principal breeding countries.
Public Business. - Poultry (Diseases) Bill, 1934—Second Stage.
In normal times I should have welcomed this Bill, because the county which I represent, and which the Minister represents, is probably the best county in Ireland for poultry with the exception of certain Northern counties, such as Monaghan. Otherwise, Wexford rears the largest number of poultry. This is another instance of locking the stable door when the steed is stolen. I am amazed at the Minister's statement about the market considering that we heard "the British market was gone and gone for ever, thank God," and all the rest. There are very high tariffs on poultry and poultry products, and evidently there is no effort to remove them. I know for certain good reasons that there is going to be an enormous reduction in the production of poultry this year. From observation I would put it at about half what it was in the district in which I live. The poultry industry was carried on extensively there. I wonder if another matter has been overlooked, that is the mortality amongst young poultry and the very serious effect of the Minister's maize mixture. That mixture, especially the barley mixture, has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of young poultry. I said that would be so when the Bill was before the Seanad. The maize is expensive on ordinary people and the mixture has proved fatal in large numbers of cases. The Minister stated recently in the country that only cattle breeders were affected by the economic war. Far more people are affected in the poultry industry by the economic war, and the blow falls on the poor, perhaps, more than the rich, because poultry are only a side line with farmers. To cottagers poultry meant a large part of their means of living, contributing towards rent and rates. I know dozens of cottagers in the district in which I live who, outside of the small weekly wage that the men earn, lived out of poultry, and made a very good thing out of it. The collapse of the turkey market was a terrible blow to poor people as well as to the rich. If he is not quite indifferent and callous about the welfare of farmers and farm labourers, the Minister should know that that is the position in this industry. He stated that facilities would be given for blood tests, but he did not say if a charge would be made for these tests. People cannot afford to pay veterinary surgeons to come and make blood tests on poultry. They certainly will not do it. The Minister said that a small fee would be charged.
For blood tests.
No, you did not mention that a fee would be charged for blood tests. It was for something else, the importation of eggs.
Cathaoirleach
Section 2 (e) makes provision for the payment of fees.
I am anxious to know what fees are to be charged for. Any provision which requires poultry breeders to pay fees will, I am sure, be a failure. In normal times this Bill would be very useful. I am not opposing it. A time may come when we will be able to restore the poultry industry to the position it was in. It has been dreadfully injured, and for that reason I would like to see this Bill passed.
I do not propose to be an expert on chickens but, inasmuch as Senator Miss Browne states positively that the mixture of barley and maize was responsible for the death of numbers of young poultry, I would like to know if the Senator has any proof, except her own opinion.
And hundreds of others.
I would not regard that as a sufficient reason why we should abandon tillage. If she wants to have a side blow at tillage I do not think the economic war, by any stretch of human ingenuity, should be dragged into a discussion on this Bill. But, one does not know the genius of Senator Miss Browne in matters of this kind, because she is influenced by a single idea.
A small fee will be charged for blood tests. I do not think Senator Miss Browne is right in concluding that a veterinary surgeon will have to go to the houses of poultry keepers to make blood tests. I understand that these will be taken by the staffs of the county committees of agriculture. There will only be a small laboratory charge. It will be necessary, perhaps, to have some little fee, so that people may not make too much use of the services given. A free service might be abused. I do not know what Senator Miss Browne regards as ordinary times, but, if she is expecting to get back to 1921 or 1922 we can hardly expect ordinary times again.
1929 or 1931 would do me.
Even to get back to the conditions that prevailed then! A strange thing about the economic war is that we have difficulty in stopping the smuggling of eggs across the Border. The fact is that eggs are dearer here than in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland. It should be quite obvious to Senator Miss Browne that if there is a tariff which is less than the bounty, prices ought to be better here. It is only a simple sum in subtraction. The bounty is 2d. higher than the tariff, and, therefore, in normal times Senator Miss Browne should know that the price should be 2d. better here than in the Six Counties. Prices are better here, as a matter of fact. If they were not surely people would not take the risk of smuggling eggs into the Free State? In the case of poultry, there is a difference of 2d. per lb. The bounty is 2d. better than the tariff, and in normal conditions prices must be better here than in the Six Counties. If the economic war has done anything, it has improved the condition of people with poultry. If times are abnormal they are abnormal in favour of Senator Miss Browne, and that is all the more reason why this Bill should be brought in. As to the mixture, I did not bring in the maize meal mixture without consulting scientific and practical experts amongst our poultry farmers. They told us there was no danger whatever in having a maize meal mixture. If you look at any of the journals dealing with poultry-keeping I doubt if you will get any responsible people who would suggest giving pure maize to chickens. That would be pure waste of food. It is known for 25 years amongst farmers and dietetic experts that you must have a balanced ration for all animals. Pure maize is not a balanced ration for any animal, neither for a young chicken nor a grown pig, and if poultry are dying, as Senator Miss Browne says, in her area, and if the maize mixture is blamed for it, it is blamed in the wrong. There must be some other reason for it. Possibly the mortality may be due to some disease with which we can deal under the Bill, and I would ask Senator Miss Browne, or any other Senator here who has a similar complaint to make, to avail of the services which we are going to provide under the Bill and have some of the dead chickens sent up for a test examination. We shall find by this test examination if the maize meal mixture is doing them any injury. It is almost impossible to think that every one of the State poultry farms should be unanimous in a contrary opinion if it has anything to do with it. It is nearly impossible to imagine that they would be all wrong at the same time. I do not think any other question arose in the course of the discussion which calls for a reply.