asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state in relation to the articles to which the Emergency Imposition of Duties (No. 5) Order, 1932, refers, (1) the net selling value of the annual production and (2) the number of wage-earners employed in the production or manufacture of (a) coal, (b) cement, (c) electrical goods, (d) sugar and saccharine, (e) sugar goods, (f) iron and steel goods, and (3) the annual amount paid in wages.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Saorstát Production Statistics.
There is no production of cement or saccharine in the Saorstát. According to the returns received in my Department, the value of coal raised in the Saorstát in the year 1934 was £91,672. The latest year for which particulars are available regarding the number of wage-earners employed in the mines and wages paid is 1931, when the value of coal raised was £71,674, the average number of wage-earners employed was 658 and the wages paid £42,048. The net selling value of sugar manufactured during the 1934/5 campaign was £1,628,430. The number of wage-earners employed in this highly seasonal industry in mid-December, 1934, was approximately 2,800, and the total wages paid during the year 1934/5 was approximately £164,000. In regard to (c) electrical goods, (e) sugar goods and (f) iron and steel goods, it is not possible, from the returns received in my Department, to segregate the particulars, required by the Deputy, in relation to the articles to which the Emergency Imposition of Duties (No. 5) Order, 1932, applies.
Will the Minister say if any steps were taken to ascertain the employment in these new industries, the wages paid, the annual value of the production——
The Deputy is misinformed.
If the Minister would look into these matters perhaps he could give us an opinion on them.
If the Deputy would study the answer to the question, he would get that information.