asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is prepared to allow the large surplus of barley and oats for which there is no sale in this country at present to be exported to Great Britain where there is a good market for both classes of grain, and, if not, if he will prepare some scheme by means of which small farmers, who have their grain crops left on their hands and have no live stock to which to feed them, will be put in a position to meet their annuities, rates and other demands, as owing to the failure of the beet crop in most districts they have no other way this year, except by selling corn, to raise the money to pay demands and carry on their farming.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Grain Crops.
The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the, second portion of the question, I would refer the Deputy to the announcement in the public Press on Wednesday, 25th September, of an arrangement by which maize millers will purchase oats and barley for inclusion in a maize meal mixture which will be sold in replacement cf pure maize meal. One of the objects of this scheme is to provide an immediate market for oats and barley which may have to be sold by the producers in the circumstances mentioned in the Deputy's question.
Are you going to sell the oats that you have stored at the North Wall?
The minority of farmers in County Wexford got 30/6 for their barley, while the majority can get only 17/6 a barrel?
Yes.
The Minister is now proposing a new scheme, at 17/6 a barrel.
Arising out of the Minister's reply, may I inquire whether it is his intention to sell at 8/- per cwt. the thousands of tons of Canadian oats he brought in last autumn and that are still on his hands? Is he going to hold them over for a higher price later in the season?
I do not know what the grain importers may do with what the Deputy calls thousands of tons of oats. It may be true that there are thousands of tons, but the number is not 10,000. I do not know what they will do, but I think they will take what they get.
Mr. Brennan
Is there any obligation on the millers to pay the price agreed upon?
That was a voluntary arrangement.
Mr. Brennan
But the price agreed upon is not being paid. Is the Minister going to take any steps to see that that agreement is carried out?
It was a voluntary arrangement and I could not undertake to take any steps to enforce it. I was told by a seller to-day that he had got more than the price agreed upon.
Mr. Brennan
I have been told that grain is being sold at half the agreed price, and I have been asked to find out what steps the Minister is going to take to see that the agreement is observed.
I have not the slightest doubt that if farmers hold up their stocks of oats, they will get that price eventually.
Is it true that Cereals Limited, the firm set up by the Minister for the importation of cereals, have on their hands thousands of tons of oats that they brought in last summer from Canada and that they intend to dispose of these oats to the millers of this country at 8/- per cwt. before anybody else in the country can get 8/-?
I do not think that is right.
He is going to lose 7/- per cwt. on it himself.
The grain importers brought in 6,000 tons of oats, but I do not know whether they have disposed of it yet or not. I could not say.
You are a very innocent man. God help you.
Is the Minister aware that £1 per barrel for barley is rather nonsensical even from the Minister's point of view? Prices of £1 for barley and 14/- for oats do not seem to coincide at all seeing that those who grew barley for malting were promised 30/- per barrel. The Minister should insist that those who had not barley early in the year should get a reasonable price. There is no bad barley this year. The Minister knows as well as I do that whatever barley could not be sold was not fit for malting purposes——
Does the Deputy purport to ask a supplementary question?
I am putting it to the Minister in an indirect way.
So indirect that the Deputy has lost his way.
I am sure Deputies would realise the position if they thought over it. The brewers agreed early in the season to give 30/- as a middle price for making barley in order to get sufficient barley grown, but they made it very clear at the time that they did not guarantee to take more than their requirements. After the brewers had got a sufficient supply, a certain amount of barley was left on the producers' hands. That barley can only be used for feeding. It must be bought by somebody for the feeding of animals. It must be bought at an economic price for the feeder. Taking all these matters into consideration, I think £1 per barrel is the most the farmers could hope to get for it.
Are the farmers of County Wexford and other barley growing counties supposed to sell their barley now at 17/6 per barrel?
The millers give £1 a barrel for it.
But the merchants stopped 2/6 a barrel for freight. Were the farmers not guaranteed 28/- for barley and 35/- for wheat?
There was no Government guarantee.
It was said in this House that they would get 28/- a barrel for barley.
It may have been said in this House but it was explained that the brewers would pay 30/- only for what they required.
You should not be asking people to till more land if you have not a market for the produce.
We have the best market in the world—our own animals.
What animals have we?
Our own animals.
Pigs that we cannot sell.