The criticism that has been made here about Córas Tráchtála —or rather the questions that have been asked about whether we are getting value for the money that is now being voted for the purposes of Córas Tráchtála—is the first I have heard. I am not objecting to it, because a little criticism does no harm on occasion, to the most successful bodies. Senator Jessop has spoken about the opinion held by people in the United States whom he has met as to the high quality of the service, and the standard of work, given and performed by Córas Tráchtála and their officers. I can assure the House that opinion is shared by the Irish firms who have had occasion to avail of the services of Córas Tráchtála. With regard to ensuring that the annual expenditure is scrutinised I think the very manner in which this money is being given, and the fact that it is given annually, ensures effective scrutiny.
The bulk of the £1 million that has already been passed by the Oireachtas as being available to this body has been spent in the ordinary way. The money is voted annually. Córas Tráchtála, like any Department or section of a Department, must submit their budget annually, first to my Department who, in turn, submit it to the accounting department, the Department of Finance. I can assure the House that every item of expenditure, and every proposed item of expenditure, in that budget is scrutinised very closely, and full account of what the expenditure is intended to achieve is taken in advance. Criticism of the manner in which we provide the money, which was made by Senator Murphy, is possibly criticism of the stinginess, if one might use that word, of the State in dealing with this board.
The £1 million which was voted in the previous Act is almost entirely exhausted. I mentioned in the Dáil how that money has been spent over the years in a broad way, starting with £97,000 in 1959/60, and in the three succeeding years averaging about £250,000. In the current year the grant-in-aid is £310,000 which, as Senators will see, would exhaust the £1 million already voted, by the end of the year.
One purpose of the Bill is to raise the limit from £1 million to £2½ million. I think the Seanad will not agree with the criticism offered by Senator Murphy because, when this £2½ million is exhausted, apart altogether from the annual scrutiny that is given to the budget of Córas Tráchtála, and the annual debate that is held on the Estimates for the Department of Industry and Commerce—of which Córas Tráchtála expenditure forms part—at the end of a period of possibly four or five years, the extra £1½ million will have been exhausted, and there will be an opportunity for both Houses of the Oireachtas, in debating a new Bill, if a new Bill is necessary as I expect it will be, to review the activities of that body, and to ensure that the moneys they are expending are well expended. I think the result that have been achieved show that the moneys have, indeed, been well expended.
I did not give any details of the increases in exports that have been achieved over the past ten years, because they have been fully set out in the annual report of Córas Tráchtála for 1962, which was recently published, and which, no doubt, is available to all members of the Oireachtas in the ordinary way. If Senators will consult that report they will see that in the ten years from 1952 to the end of 1962 the value of our exports increased from £99 million to £168 million. They will see, too, if they care to examine the particular items, that under almost every heading there has been an increase in the value of exports and, with very few exceptions, that increase has been maintained continuously over recent years.
In regard to industrial exports, it is important to realise, as Senator O'Brien has mentioned, and as advised by the report of the Central Bank, that we must depend more and more on our exports in order to improve the standard of living of our people. We know that for international economic reasons it is difficult to rely at the present juncture, at any rate, on agricultural exports, because of the support and subsidy systems operating abroad which limit the capacity of our agricultural producers to find markets for their surpluses. Therefore, in the main, we have to depend on an increase in industrial exports to maintain and increase employment, and to improve the standard of living of our people. I think the expenditure here is modest, having regard to what we must achieve in that field and, indeed, having regard to what has already been achieved. With regard to the premises, at the moment, as Senators might know, Córas Tráchtála have a number of premises in different parts of the world, in London and New York, and one in Brussels. London, of course, is the principal centre, Britain being the principal export market we have. But the premises in London were never really adequate and have recently proved far from being adequate for the purposes of Córas Tráchtála. They were inadequate from the start because they had no shop window there. The premises were situated along Regent Street, and Córas Tráchtála were unable to display even a plate on the outside indicating that they were there, and one had to go through a narrow hallway to the premises where Irish goods were put on display from time to time.
I think it is very obvious, in so far as the main function of Córas Tráchtála is the presentation of Irish export goods, that they should have, if they can acquire them at all, ground floor premises with adequate frontage. It is felt that in order to have such premises they may have to acquire a whole house, or a whole building, most of which they would not need for their own purposes. The existing Act did not, or it is thought that it did not, give them power to lease premises or portion of premises which they would not require and this Bill will do so. I do not think there is any party objection against Irish exports, and, indeed, other Irish interests, having an adequate shop window in London, first of all, because of the size of London itself, being the centre, economic, financial and otherwise, of Great Britain, where our greatest market is, and also because of the millions of visitors who come from all over the world to London. I think it is important for Ireland and what it has to sell and what it has to offer by way of tourism, if the Tourist Board decide to take a lease of part of these premises, that we should display those things adequately in a centre like London.
I think Senator Murphy made a point about the possibility of making exporters who use the services of Córas Tráchtála pay for these services. I think that that would in the first place be a tax on production. In any event, it would be very difficult to apportion the cost among the different types of exporters that we have. As the House knows, many small firms do quite a successful export business but they have not the resources to engage in the market research and to some extent the publicity required to maintain exports at an adequate level. Córas Tráchtála provide such facilities for these and, indeed, for big exporters, too. They carry out market research from their own resources, give grants to firms or groups of firms to engage in market research themselves and in many ways help in a positive way to promote exports.
I would refer Senators to appendix 1 of the annual report. Under the heading "Services to Exporters" they will find a pen picture of the various activities carried on by Córas Tráchtála to aid exporters: market exploration, marketing, buyers' services, advisory services, design, publicity, overseas offices and publications. I can assure the House that their activities under all these headings have been of a very high standard. Therefore, it is with confidence that I recommend the Bill to the House and I am glad to note that it has almost unanimous approval.
