I move:—
That Seanad Éireann hereby approves of the Sugar (Prohibition of Import) Order, 1950.
Sugar (Prohibition of Import) Order, 1950—Motion for Approval.
The Sugar (Control of Import) Act, 1936, empowers the Government to prohibit, by Order, the importation of sugar except under licence. Import licences may be granted to the sugar company only. The first prohibition Order on the importation of sugar was made in May, 1936, and since that time the importation of sugar has been regulated by an annual prohibition Order. The current prohibition Order, which is the 15th Order of the series, prohibits the importation of sugar during the period from the 1st May, 1950, to the 30th April, 1951.
Section 3 of the Sugar (Control of Import) Act, 1936, provides that every prohibition Order shall cease to have effect at the expiration of six months from the date thereof unless the Order has been approved by Resolution of the Oireachtas passed before the expiration of the said six months. The current Order was made on the 21st April, 1950, and consequently, it will require to be confirmed not later than the 20th October, 1950.
There is exemption from the prohibition in the case of:—(a) sugar not exceeding 14 lbs. in weight which is intended for the personal use of the importer or of his household; and (b) samples of sugar.
It is provided under Section 7 (4) of the Sugar (Control of Import) Act, 1936, that a fee at the rate appointed by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, shall be paid in respect of every licence which is issued authorising the importation of sugar. The object of this provision is to ensure that the sugar company, which is the sole licensee, shall not make any profit on the sale of the imported sugar. Accordingly, the aim has been to appoint a fee which would be equal to the difference between (a) the amount realised by the company on the sale of imported sugar, and (b) the amount expended by the company on the purchase and handling of the sugar.
In normal times, when sugar was freely available in the world markets, it was necessary to restrict imports in the interests of the sugar factories. The annual demand is at the rate of about 100,000 tons and our factories produced 88,700 tons in 1949. It is necessary, therefore, in the ordinary way to import sugar and the arrangement under which it may be imported only by the sugar company enables a uniform price to be maintained.
I should like to have information from the Parliamentary Secretary as to whether it is necessary for the sugar company who are the importing body under this Order to make an application for each supply, or is the company given a general licence to cover what they estimate will be the total requirements over the 12 months?
A general licence.
And it is not necessary to make an application? It gives authority to the company to import at any time the quantity which they estimate will be required.
Occasionally, they might have to make application for foreign exchange, but that is a separate matter.
Could we have any information as to the profit made by the sugar company on the importation and sale of the sugar at the price fixed, 7½d. per lb., over the 12 months?
I have not got the figures at hand, but I imagine they could be got by way of Parliamentary Question.
Captain Orpen
Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary could clear up a difficulty in the minds of a lot of people. As he rightly stated, the purpose of prohibiting the import of sugar was to protect the sugar factories. There were periods recently when sugar purchased outside was more costly than the home-manufactured sugar. The position seems to vary from day to day and according to the type of sugar. If we could have a statement as to whether imported sugar to-day is dearer than the sugar we can produce ourselves, it might have a good effect on the consumer to realise that people growing beet in this country were growing it at a lower total cost in sugar compared with the price at which foreign stuff could be obtained. We have had some statements in this regard and it would be interesting to find out what the position to-day is in the light of the fact that the sugar company is asking for the right to be the sole importer. I think the public are entitled to know what the price position is, that is, not only what it has to pay for sugar but what it ultimately receives from the sale of that sugar here.
Up to 1948, the imported sugar was cheaper than the home sugar. Since then, the imported sugar is dearer. It varies according to individual consignments. It is not possible to give a definite price, which would rule for the entire imports, but, since 1948, the imported sugar price has been higher than that of the homegrown sugar.
Motion put and agreed to.