The Seanad will recall that in 1945 the Oireachtas passed a Bill providing, on a very approximate comparison, for some of the difficulties that arose in respect of the restriction of exports in the same way as, prior thereto, there had been in the Customs Acts provisions for the restriction of imports. The circumstances that arose in the emergency were extended and there had not been, up to then, any necessity to have customs provisions dealing with exports. The Act of 1945 which was then introduced was introduced with emergency experience only. It was introduced at a time when we were changing over from the Emergency Powers Act to the Supplies and Services Act, enacted the following year. It was in that emergency picture that it was deemed desirable that the Act would only be introduced for a period of five years to see if, at the end of that period, we would come out of the position as it then was and whether it would be desirable or necessary to have permanent legislation on the same lines.
When 1950 came along, and that Act was ending its period of five years, it was thought that the best thing to do was to enact it for a further period of five years. That second period of five years ends on the 31st of this month.
The Bill which I am now asking the House to deal with is merely continuing the present position for a further period of 12 months. I hope I will be able to come to the Oireachtas before this time next year with more permanent provisions. I hope I shall be able to come with a Bill which will embody those provisions which are really necessary to prevent export smuggling. At the moment, it would be both premature and undesirable to bring that Bill to the Oireachtas.
I think members of all Parties in the Dáil and members of all sides of this House—where Parties are not quite aligned, perhaps, in the same way— would agree that in the permanent legislation it would be desirable to have as few restrictions as possible. Just at the moment, I feel it would be unwise from every point of view to relax any of the restrictions that are there both because of the physical effect of such restrictions and also because of the psychological effect. By and large, I think we can say that the administrative machine which we set up in the 1945 Act has worked reasonably well. The prevention of export smuggling is a difficult thing and for it are needed special restrictions— restrictions with which we should like to dispose of as soon as possible.
I should be misleading the House if I said I thought we could dispose of and avoid these restrictions at the present juncture. Therefore, I would ask the House to extend the life of the present legislation for a period of a further 12 months on the assurance that I hope to be able, if circumstances continue to improve, before this time next year, to come in with a more permanent measure.
