Vol. 39 No. 10
I move:—
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £4,922 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1932, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí na Saotharlainne Stáit.
That a sum not exceeding £4,922 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1932, for the Salaries and Expenses of the State Laboratory.
I presume the State Laboratory makes charges for its services, but looking over the Estimate I do not see any appropriations-in-aid.
Relatively little non-governmental work is done. I could not state exactly what has been done in the nature of non-governmental work. The work is clearly for Departments. For instance, in the year 1929-30 we had 26,600 samples for the Revenue Commissioners, 12,357 for the Department of Agriculture, 660 for the Department of Fisheries, 49 for the Post Office, 65 for the Stationery Office, 57 for the Department of Industry and Commerce, 100 for the Department of Local Government and Public Health, and 28 for the Department of Justice.
Normally the work is really analysing samples of various sorts sent by Government Departments, samples sent for revenue purposes by revenue officers, samples of various classes of goods purchased from some other Department, and some dealing with criminal cases from the Department of Justice. From the Department of Agriculture you have samples of dairy produce, margarine, fertilisers, feeding stuffs, sheep dips, etc.
Is there any research branch?
There is no research. There would be for any particular purpose. If something in the nature of research were required, the State chemist and his assistant would conduct special examinations, but the ordinary work sent in is for revenue purposes or dealing with purity or quality or something of that nature. Research is not part of the ordinary work of the laboratory.
Is the Minister considering any development in that direction? It seems to me that a research department would be very valuable in connection with the development of certain Irish resources; for example, I can imagine a research department being constantly working in connection with the industrial side of the geological department.
I know that the view which has been taken generally by the Government is that research is really a matter for the universities. We do give a little help to the colleges by way of a research grant to encourage students at least to continue under their professor for some period after taking their degrees and to enter upon some line of research. There has been from time to time some consideration of further development in that direction, but generally it is not thought that the State laboratory is the best place. It is thought that it could be perhaps more effectually and economically done in the universities. After all, there is this difficulty about research, that you cannot tell anybody what to find; he can only find what is there. Perhaps more fruitful research work will be done by allowing those who are engaged on it as their daily work to some extent in the universities to direct it and co-operate with younger men who may be taking it up.
Could the Minister give any details as to the aid given at present in that direction?
About £700.
It is very small.
It is small.
