I gave notice to-day of my intention to raise the question:
To request the Minister for Industry and Commerce to use his good offices with C.I.E. to ensure that during the fuel shortage the commercial policy of that organisation is directed towards securing the greatest use of public transport for goods traffic.
I think all Senators will be agreed that the conservation of our transport resources is a crucial matter at present. Spokesmen for the railways and the lorry owners very rarely agree on anything, but they have agreed on this, that our transport facilities are in excess of the amount of goods carried. They differ, of course, on how transport is to be conserved. The railways hold that road transport should be restricted and vice versa. Recently, the Chairman of C.I.E. stated that the railways should not be constricted until the possibility of making them pay has been fully explored. It is rather late in the day to say that, but we can agree with him.
The present crisis offers a unique chance of making the railways pay. The question of making them pay is not to be solved, I think, simply by restricting road traffic. That would entail confusion, dislocation and a costly administrative machinery. I think that should be done only as a last resort. I think there is a way to overcome the difficulty and it is to persuade C.I.E. to initiate a new commercial policy, quite a simple one, that of securing by an intensive campaign the maximum amount of goods traffic. It is obvious that such a campaign would benefit C.I.E. and also relieve the pressure on goods transport by road and consequently assist the national economy during a crisis. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that C.I.E. realises the advantages of such a policy. So far, it has not launched an intensive campaign to secure goods traffic during the shortage.
What has it done? It has called upon the Government to help the railways by restricting road transport, its chief competitor. It has done nothing to relieve the pressure on road transport by a sound commercial policy. It should have a policy of attracting custom for goods traffic by quoting to traders exceptional rates on the basis of their individual circumstances. C.I.E., in fact, holds a world record alone among the railways of the world, with the possible exception of the Lough Swilly railway. It is unique among the railways of the world for, except in very rare instances, it refuses to quote exceptional rates negotiated with special traders on the basis of their individual circumstances. That is a normal practice with all railways in the world except C.I.E. It is true that it does quote specified categories of rates, but they are usually rigidly maintained and there is no flexibility.