asked the Minister for Agriculture if he has refused or is about to refuse to grant licences to several small bacon curers; and, if so, whether, before such action is taken, he will have inquiry made into the circumstances surrounding the proposed extinction of their factories.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Small Bacon Curers's Licenes.
The Deputy's question presumably refers to the minor curers who were registered as such under the Pigs and Bacon Acts and who failed to qualify for licences. The Acts lay down that curers must have produced as certain quantity of bacon within the preliminary period, and failure to do so makes their ineligible for liences. The circumstances attending the bacon factories on the eligbility for licence bearing on the eligibility for licence and cannot, therefore, be taken into consideration.
Is the Minister aware that recently some authorised inspectors have gone round amongst the minor currers and that to some of the minor curers they have said: "We accept from your returns that you have slaughtered the qualifing number of pigs, but we declare that your premises do not come up to the required standard and, therefore, we will not giver you a licence"? To the others they have said: "we admit that your premises come up to the required standard, but we do not admit that your records are correct, that you slaughtered the requisite number of pigs and, therefore we will not give you a licence," with the net result that nearly all the minor curers are to be swept out of existence and a virtual monopoly handed over to the members of the Pigs and Bacon Marketing Boards.
I do not know whether what the Deputy says is true or not, and I certainly do not accept it as true because the Deputy says, it, but if a baccon curer has fulfuilled his obligations with regard to quantity, he must also have his premises put in order, but they may be put in order now and a licence will be given. If he did not have the requisite quantity slaughtered in the qualifying period, no matter whether the premises come up to the standard or not, a licence cannot be given.
Suppose there is a uifferencce between the Department and the curer as to whether, in fact, the requisite number of pigs has been slaughtered, has the curer any method of appeal against the decision of the inspector that the requisite number has not been slaughtered?
The curer has made returns throughtout the years.
I understand that, in certain cases, the curer claims that he has slaughtered the qualifying number of pigs and the Department says he has not. I those circumstances, what recourse has the curer?
As a matter of fact, I do not think there is any case outstanding of a dispute between the Department and the curer now. There were two or three in the beginning, but they have bee adjusted.
Have these people got licences?
I think that, in two cases, it was admitted that they had the required quantity.
And they got licences?
Yes, provided the premises were right.
There is some use in putting a question on the Paper.