Under the Control of Exports (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1956 (Continuance) Act, 1958, the Control of Exports (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1956, which was due to expire on 9th February, 1959 was continued in force until 31st March, 1962. The purpose of this Bill is to continue the 1956 Act in force until 31st March, 1965.
The Act empowers the Minister for Industry and Commerce to prohibit by Order the exportation of industrial goods save under a licence issued by him. At present a number of goods are subject to export control under the Control of Exports Order, 1961, the Control of Exports (No. 2) Order, 1961, and the Control of Exports (No. 3) Order, 1961, which were made under the powers conferred by the Act. Orders made under the Act have a life of twelve months, and are required to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are made, and if a resolution annulling any Order is passed by either House at any time during the currency of the Order, the Order is annulled accordingly.
I consider that the time has not yet come when the export controls may be dispensed with. Accordingly it will be necessary to continue these powers for some further time, and to enact legislation to that end. The need is threefold;
(a) to conserve, for the benefit of home industry, raw materials continuing or likely to continue in short supply; examples of such commodities which are the subject of current orders are iron and steel scrap and aluminium, lead and zinc scrap.
(b) to ensure that strategic materials are not exported from this country to Iron Curtain Countries or that this country is not used as a base through which such materials may be sent to the Iron Curtain Countries from other countries, and,
(c) to have immediately available a means of dealing with the situation in the event of an international emergency developing in which the country could be drained of essential materials before corrective legislation could be enacted by the Oireachtas.
For the reasons mentioned, I commend this Bill to the favourable consideration of the Seanad.