Yes. Senator Rooney asked whether the rate of expansion is below or above the national average. I understand that in the best period, at least in 1964 and at present, the rate of expansion is above the national average at Shannon. I hope that will continue and I hope the national average will rise. This represents a challenge to the Shannon Free Airport Development Company.
Some Senators referred to female labour at Shannon. At present 1,538 males and 1,389 females are employed there. The object of the company is to have a balanced community there. Having allowed for those who normally live in Limerick and Ennis and those who usually live at Shannon, the employment must conform to the requirements of family life in the area. It is desirable to employ as many men as women. Quite obviously, there are some industries which lend themselves to air freight where the proportion of females may be higher than would be desirable in the ultimate. I think the company have a balanced point of view in regard to that. They are constantly looking for the kind of engineering industries which require male labour and they will continue to do so. At the same time, when one reads reports about rural life in Ireland it is very important to consider the problem in this way. It is a common feature of the Netherlands that the small farms exist through wages coming in in any form, either earned by the daughters or by the sons. It is very important to increase the incomes of small farmers by enabling some of their family, whether boys or girls, to work in an industry. It is desirable to have as many men as possible employed but equally the money brought home by girls is of very great importance.
I mention that because Senator Sheehy Skeffington referred to development in the Netherlands. When I was there, I found development which I think can be found also in Great Britain, but which is very prevalent in the Netherlands. It is the extent to which people work a half day in industry and another half day on the farm. That is quite an unusual form of double employment. One knows that there has been short time work for married women in England but the half day working is something of a novel character. It has not been developed here to any considerable degree. I merely mention that to show the importance of having an industrial community adjacent to a small farming community.
Senator Rooney asked whether there were any Irish-based firms at Shannon. The answer is that the Irish firms are concerned with forwarding and warehousing services. The remainder of the firms are run by foreign concerns.
Senator Rooney and Senator Quinlan raised the question of whether we could not have started this kind of industrial estate anywhere, particularly at Ennis or Limerick. Whatever controversy there may be regarding the desirability of starting regional industrial centres, this is a very special community. The attraction of the Shannon Industrial Estate consists, first of all, in the existence of a customs free zone and, secondly, in the proximity of the Estate to the airport. No doubt handling is required from the factory to the air freight plane. One-fifth of the freight at Shannon comes from the Industrial Estate and there are firms there which completely depend on air freight because it suits their kind of business. For example the piano industry finds it best to send heavy pianos by air because of the reduced packing and the low liability to damage.
A great deal of work done in this country is in the nature of speculative expansion, in the sense that we cannot be aware of what will happen in the future here or in any other country. Looking at the development of air transport in this country in the past ten years, I believe there will be a breakthrough in air freight. I believe that with the new types of aircraft the cost of air freight will be reduced. A time will come when more of the air companies will allot their most brilliant executives to the air freight business rather than to passengers. Two or three years ago when I asked our own company to devote attention to this they turned over some of the best of their staff to the air freight business. To promote an industrial estate along such lines at the airport is a good thing because there is a great future for air freight.
Some years ago the International Air Transport Association agreed to reduce transatlantic air freight rates. The air freight rates between New York and Shannon in contrast to those between New York and London or Paris were reduced. That, together with special commodity bulk rates, affected Shannon favourably. I hope that kind of change will continue to the advantage of Shannon.
Senator Quinlan referred to the payment of workers. He corrected himself when he said what he really meant was that, although the workers might be paid trade union rates according to their years of service, some of them might be badly paid because of the long distances they had to travel. Everything is being done to expedite the building of houses for family workers at Shannon. I have pressed the company to go ahead with this plan. I agree that in the case of some of these workers the wage is small when the bus fare is deducted. Nevertheless, it is what might be regarded as initiating an industrial tradition in an area of the country where there was absolutely no employment at all. I hope that girls will be encouraged to come to live at Shannon when there are community arrangements for them and that they will marry some of the men working there. We hope to have houses provided for them and, indeed, they are being provided for them.
Senator Quinlan also referred to one or two firms at Shannon which had not accepted trade union relationship with their workers. This comes of some tradition common to them in America, or whatever country they came from, and it is not unique at Shannon. In other words, these firms have not had trade union relationship with their workers in other places. It has been pointed out to them tactfully that they should accept the idea of trade unionism wholeheartedly. We have not been successful so far in getting them to adopt that attitude but in all cases they have been paying wages above trade union rates. Productivity in the area is satisfactory and I think it can be said that the trade unions operate successfully in the area. I think they object to the attitude of firms which do not permit trade unions to operate within the factory. Nevertheless, they understand the position and they have adopted a restrained and tactful attitude.
What the future will bring I cannot say. It would be wrong for me to intervene in that matter. It is better left to commonsense and to the goodwill of everybody concerned. Those in the Shannon Free Airport Development Company do concern themselves with the happiness of the workers, recruiting, training, and so on. I do not think this constitutes what can be described as a serious problem.
Senator Sheehy Skeffington inquired about the Shannon Free Airport Development Company property. Part of the lands was sold by me, as Minister for Transport and Power, to the Company and part was sold by private owner to the company in fee simple. Because of that no ground rents arose, or will arise.
Senator Rooney asked me to state the number of acres that were to be acquired as part of the extension of the community area. I would ask the Senator not to press me on that. Some deals have been closed. Others have not been closed. It would be wrong for me while these negotiations are going on, to give the full amount of the land. The land is necessary to ensure the growth of the housing community and it will enable proper planning to be undertaken.
