In previous years it was found possible to make reductions in the net amount required for this service, a continuous fall in net expenditure having been effected in the Estimates since 1st April, 1923. This year, however, though a not altogether negligible further reduction in the amount required for the public service generally has been made, this reduction has been more than offset by a big increase in the sum required to meet the expenses of publication of "Iris Oifigiúil" (Sub-head G). The Land Act, 1931, under which it is proposed that the land, tenanted and untenanted, still remaining unvested at the date of the passing of the Act shall be immediately vested in the Irish Land Commission, will entail publication in "Iris Oifigiúil" in the present year, of notices in respect of some 100,000 holdings. Publication will be made of each estate vested, and will include, in addition to the name and address of the tenant and area to be vested, supplementary heads such as particulars of tenancy, standard price, easements, etc., etc., so that it will become necessary to make publication in tabular form.
The cost of such publication is naturally out of all proportion to that of the hitherto regular week by week vesting as published, and though it has been possible so to amend and recast the form of publication as to bring down the printing costs by approximately four thousand pounds, the Estimate for the sub-head is still higher by £12,700 than in the year 1930-31. So voluminous is the mass of material to be dealt with that it is anticipated that the volume of "Iris Oifigiúil" will be increased by some 120 closely-printed pages, weekly, during a period of over four months, assuming that it is found possible to compress the work of publication into this period.
An increase in the Estimate for Salaries and Wages (sub-head A) is also required, partly to meet the cost of the staff of the Sale Office which has been opened for the direct sale of Government publications, and partly to meet the normal increases of salary (Office and Warehouse). The general cost of the Sale Office rent, salaries, &c., will be offset by increased Appropriations-in-Aid in respect of discounts on sale publications, customs and factory forms, &c., which discounts have previously been secured by agents under contract.
Other small increases are shown under Incidental Expenses (sub-head C) due to a slight addition to the sum required for advertisements and under Books and Maps (sub-head M) due to an increased provision towards a technical library for the Industrial and Commercial Property Office (Patent Office).
On the other hand economies, substantial in the aggregate, are anticipated on the remaining sub-heads. The more significant are:—(1) Printing under the Electoral Acts (sub-head H), £2,520. The full effect of the "reprint with alterations" rates, applicable to the five years' contract for printing the Registers of Electors proper is now being felt, and assuming that the contracts which are held throughout the country will continue to run their course the reduction in the Estimate should be fully justified. Four-sevenths of the cost of this printing is borne by the local authorities and is brought to account of the Stationery Office Vote as an Appropriation-in-Aid. (2) Printing for Public Departments (sub-head I). Here it has been possible to anticipate a decrease amounting to £1,305 in the coming year. The volume of general printing for the public service shows no sign of decline, but savings are anticipated on reports, of which a large number have been appearing in the past few years. Although there is likely to be a decrease in the printing costs the volume of printing for the repayment services still continues to be considerable.
The production of text books and general readers in Irish for the Department of Education (Votes 47 and 49) represents expenditure on printing and binding amounting to from £4,000 to £5,000 within the year which, being charged to "suspense" is not reflected in the Estimate. It is also noted that the provision of an English-Irish dictionary ultimately to be printed and published by the Stationery Office has been approved and provision of books and stationery for Preparatory Colleges is a regular repayment service. The Department of Industry and Commerce (Vote 56) bears a charge of £3,550, the bulk of which represents the expenses of printing, binding and publishing an Official Handbook for Saorstat Eireann to be borne by the Stationery Office on a repayment basis. The Department of Agriculture provides £1,680 for the actual costs of printing, through the Stationery Office, a Register of Dairy Cattle, the Journal of the Department, etc., etc. Services on repayment also continue to be borne on behalf of the Currency Commission, Agricultural Credit Corporation, Electricity Supply Board, etc., etc.
Reference has previously been made to the sub-heads GG. and HH., these being recent additions to Stationery Office activities. The former was introduced to provide for the reprinting of certain Irish texts which were deemed to be invaluable to advanced students of the language and which but for State assistance could not be made available for students. Three texts are now in course of production and will, it is hoped, be on sale by the early autumn. The Committee set up for the purpose have, it is understood, other books under consideration.
It was the original intention that the sum provided under sub-head HH. should be devoted to subsidizing those weekly journals, etc., which, owing to financial difficulties, were finding themselves unable to continue in publication, or had actually ceased publication. To bridge the difference between the expenses of publication and the revenues from sales and advertisements does not entail a heavy charge on public funds in any individual case and the assistance given towards the costs of printing has enabled the recipients of subsidies not only to continue their useful work, but has helped them to produce their publications on more ambitious lines. Four journals, one a quarterly, are now receiving assistance and subsidies have also been given to two provincial papers circulating in the Gaeltacht which have undertaken the work of publishing news matter and items of topical interest in Irish, the subsidies taking the form of payments for all such matter within defined limits in excess of the average of Irish appearing in their columns before the question of a subsidy arose. The claims of other journals are being considered.
Small decreases are anticipated on paper (sub-head J.), miscellaneous office supplies (sub-head K.) and binding (sub-head L.). In the case of sub-head K., a sum less by £600 than the amount provided for the year 1930-31 is deemed sufficient having regard to probable savings on purchases of office machinery.
Although an increase is expected from several items of Appropriations-in-Aid there is necessarily a big decline in the receipts expected from local authorities for registration purposes, as this figure is dependent on the printing costs of the registers, etc. (sub-head H.) in respect of which a considerable reduction in expenditure is anticipated. A decrease in the commission on supplies to repaying departments is also probable as the printing for the larger repayment services, the cost of which is charged to a suspense account, is now largely executed at reprint rates.
