asked the Minister for Finance whether he is aware that fishermen in any part of Donegal who wish to send a small box of fresh fish to Dublin or any other part of the Saorstát by passenger train, must now provide themselves with, and fill up, no less than four Customs forms, some of them in triplicate, and whether this state of affairs is not particularly hard on these people, who not only find it difficult to fill up the forms, but also are unable to obtain the forms locally; whether he is aware that if the same class of goods are sent to Northern Ireland or Great Britain only one form, No. 29, in duplicate is required, and if he will endeavour to bring about an arrangement between the respective Customs Authorities that will enable non-dutiable traffic to pass freely between different parts of the Saorstát without these formalities.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - CONVEYANCE OF NON-DUTIABLE TRAFFIC IN SAORSTAT.
No forms of any kind are required by the Revenue Commissioners in respect of fish conveyed between Donegal and other parts of the Saorstát, which does not pass through Northern Ireland.
As regards consignments of fish sent from Donegal through Northern Ireland to other parts of the Saorstát, the only documents required, so far as the Revenue Commissioners are concerned, are a specification Form No. 29, which is to be presented by the sender in respect of exportation to Northern Ireland, and an Import Entry (No. 23) which is to be presented on re-entry of the goods from Northern Ireland into the Saorstát. These forms may be purchased from Messrs. Eason and Son, Ltd., or through any local bookseller. It can only be assumed that any further forms required during conveyance of the goods will be at the instance of the British Customs authorities in respect of transit through Northern Ireland.
Only one Form of Specification (No. 29) is required by the Revenue Commissioners in respect of fish destined for Northern Ireland, as in such cases their control over the goods ends on exit from the Saorstát.
Special facilities have been afforded for the conveyance of duty-paid goods from places in the Saorstát through Northern Ireland to other places in the Saorstát. The Revenue Commissioners have at present under consideration the question of the extension of such facilities to non-dutiable goods, such as fish.
What Revenue Commissioners does the Minister refer to. Are they his own?
Yes.
I have here an instruction issued to the local stationmasters on railways that run throughout Donegal in which it is stated that they are not to accept any fish or any other articles for transmission to any part of the Free State where it is necessary to touch on Northern Ireland on the road. I wonder if the Minister would see his way, if the Northern Customs authorities are to blame, to come to some arrangement whereby the people in this county can carry on business with the Free State.
We have, as I have already said, made certain arrangements in regard to certain dutiable goods. We are considering the extension of this arrangement with regard to non-dutiable goods.