Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 16 Jan 1947

Vol. 33 No. 7

Adjournment Debate: Paraffin Supplies in Rural Areas.

Mr. Baxter

I gave notice at the start of business to-day that I proposed to raise the question of supplies of paraffin oil in the rural areas. I want information on this subject and I want the Minister to take some action with regard to it. My information is—and I know it to be correct— that the shortage of paraffin oil throughout rural Ireland is so acute that thousands of homesteads have no light at all. There is a saying in the country, as you, Sir, know: "He would not give you the light of day." The Minister cannot keep the light of day from the people in the rural areas, but he certainly is not giving them any light at night. I do not know what the people in our towns and cities would say if they were in the position that they had no light. There would be a tremendous clamour and the Minister would be on his toes to see what he could do to facilitate and accommodate them.

I made some inquiries about the situation before raising this matter, and my information is to the effect that paraffin is available but that the problem is one of transport. The Minister can correct me in that regard and can inform the House as to what the situation is. The problem is one of transport, and paraffin is classified so low down in the list of commodities to be transported that it is somewhere about the 13th or 14th class. If electricity were 13th or 14th in the list of things to be transported to the people in the City of Dublin, the Minister would have been brought to book long ago. I do not know what he thinks about the farmers and about the difficulties under which they labour, but children attending school have no light to do their home lessons and the people cannot read the newspapers at night.

If the Minister makes inquiries he will find that this is not merely a problem in my county, or in part of it, but a problem which exists north, south, east and west. It is a situation which ought to be rectified immediately by the Minister, Frankly, I am astonished by the silence which has prevailed with regard to this matter for so long, but I suggest it is an urgent matter to which the Minister ought and must give his immediate attention.

Mr. Lemass

I am fully aware of the problem which arises in this connection. There is a shortage of paraffin at present. The supplies of kerosene are fairly good, but the bulk of the kerosene coming to the country is tractor vaporising oil. Nevertheless, the supplies of paraffin should be enough to maintain the domestic ration which has been fixed. The difficulty is one of distribution. It may be asked why there is that problem of distribution and I think it is well to get the position clarified. The responsibility for distributing paraffin and other petroleum products rests upon the oil distributing companies. Their difficulty is a scarcity of rail tank cars and tank lorries. Unfortunately, paraffin and other liquid fuels have to be transported in tanks.

If I am asked why there is a scarcity of rail tank cars and tank lorries, my answer is that circumstances at present require that the total supply for the country should be imported through Dublin. There are, as the House is well aware, tank installations at Waterford, Cork, Foynes, Sligo and Dundalk, and, in normal times, tankers delivered supplies to Foynes and smaller tankers brought the supplies from Dublin and Foynes to the oil installations at the smaller ports. These smaller tankers are not available. It appears that not even a tanker of the size which Foynes can take is available. Foynes takes a ship of 8,000 to 9,000 tons dead weight, but not even tankers of that size are available. It is only the 14,000 or 15,000 tons ships which are available for the transportation of petroleum products to this country and Dublin is the only port into which they can come. That situation requires that the rail tank cars and tank lorries which normally were engaged on the much shorter runs from Dundalk, Sligo, Foynes, Cork and Waterford have now to do much longer runs from Dublin, and there are not sufficient of them to handle the distribution problem properly.

I think the oil companies should have foreseen the situation and should have taken steps to provide themselves with additional tank lorries and tank trucks. They did not do it. In that respect, I think they were at fault. The responsibility was theirs and they should have foreseen, knowing the circumstances of the trade as well as they did, that this problem would arise. They did not foresee it, and now they are endeavouring to remedy the situation by getting additional tank trucks and lorries in Great Britain. They have not succeeded in getting delivery of any yet. We have made strong representations, through diplomatic channels, to the British Government to assist us in securing expeditious delivery of these additional tank vehicles. In the meantime, the companies are, I understand, endeavouring to make temporary arrangements involving the placing of tanks on ordinary lorries to facilitate the distribution of the available supplies.

The problem is particularly acute at this time of the year, but I am keeping every possible form of pressure on the oil distributors' committee to ensure that they do not fall down on this delivery job any more than they must and that, as shortages are reported from particular areas, supplies are sent to them. It is quite clear, however, that the problem will not be solved until small tankers become available for bringing coast-wise supplies to smaller ports or until the Foynes depot can be opened up again, or until the companies have got a larger fleet of rail tank trucks and tank lorries for distribution from Dublin. That is the only practical solution of the problem. In the meantime, the companies will have to be pressed to keep using their available fleet of cars and lorries to the maximum extent. Inevitably, shortages will develop locally because of this special distribution problem. I can only undertake that all the pressure that I can exercise will be put on the companies to remedy the situation, caused by their lack of foresight, by using their existing equipment to the fullest capacity and by taking all practical steps to increase it.

The Seanad adjourned at 11.35 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 22nd January, 1947.