I move:
Go ndeontar suim Bhreise ná raghaidh thar £4,500 chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1934, chun íocaíocht fé Acht na mBóthar Iarainn, 1924, fén Tramways and Public Companies (Ireland) Act, 1883, etc.; agus chun crícheanna eile a bhaineann le hIompar in Eirinn.
That a Supplementary sum not exceeding £4,500 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1934, for Payments under the Railways Act, 1924, the Tramways and Public Companies (Ireland) Act, 1883, etc., and for other purposes connected with Irish Transport.
This money is required to pay half of the amount required to meet losses on the working of the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company in respect of the working of the Letterkenny and Burtonport, Buncrana and Cardonagh and Letterkenny railways. This railway company has been subsidised each year up to the present and it was contemplated that with the passage of the Road Transport Act, the subsidy for the period ended December 31st, 1932, would have been the last; that the company would be reorganised and that this would have removed the necessity for a subsidy. The company during 1932 under the terms of the Road Traffic Act, 1932 did reorganise its passenger services and put them upon a sound basis so that they are likely to continue in the future to be operated in an economic manner and yield returns to the proprietors of the company. During 1933, however, it is anticipated that losses will occur in consequence of the disorganisation of the merchandise traffic with which the Road Transport Act, 1933, is designed to deal. As that Act would not come into operation in full anyway until the end of the year, it will not be possible for the company to take full advantage of it and to reorganise its merchandise services until the end of the year. It is to compensate for the possible losses on the working of this year that this Vote is introduced. It was proposed to close down the railway and I was not very much alarmed at that prospect because in a considerable part of that area I think that road merchandise services are as suitable, if not more suitable, than railway services. But in respect of one part of the service at any rate that was not the case; the extension to Burtonport is necessary because the roads in that area are not capable of bearing the traffic which would be occasioned if the railway services were discontinued and on enquiry from the Department of Local Government we found it would not be possible to make the roads in condition for road traffic for the present year at any rate. We agreed therefore to make good one half of the losses on the working and the Government of Northern Ireland agreed to make good the other half.
There will be thorough reorganisation, plans for which in tentative form have been already submitted, and a clear understanding that no further contributions will be forthcoming no matter what the developments in the future may be. There is no reason to believe that the company, which was so successful in the reorganisation of its passenger service, will not be equally successful in the reorganisation of its merchandise service. So far as statistics indicate, the merchandise in the year has not diminished, but rather increased, and is sufficient to maintain a transport organisation of a suitable kind on an economic basis. The fact that the reorganisation necessary could not be contemplated for some time, and that full effects could not be given to it, until the Road Transport Act was in operation, gave, in our opinion, sufficient justification for continuing this year the same financial assistance as in previous years. That is why we and the Government from Northern Ireland agreed to make this contribution.