This Bill, although rather long to read, is largely innocuous. The majority of its provisions other than the mere drafting provisions have been discussed with the milk boards and have been substantially agreed upon. There are a number of provisions for which I myself am responsible, apart from the discussion with the boards. These are designed to meet the difficulties which might arise if, through a combination of suppliers, distributors or carriers, an attempt were made to hold up supplies. Before dealing with the provisions of this Bill I would like to refer to the working of the Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) Act of 1936. It can be said that the Act has, undoubtedly, in the main, achieved the purposes for which it was passed. It has secured the producer to a large extent against exploitation by the distributors, and has introduced a high degree of regularisation in the milk business which has been a benefit not only to producers but also to traders and to the public.
It has been represented to me that during the flush season—that is, in the late spring and early summer—country producers do not get the full prescribed price. Those producers have suggested certain measures by which this difficulty might be overcome, but, as I will explain later, I am not in a position to accept their proposals. The milk producers have the remedy in their own hands and there seems little reason why, with co-operation, payment of the full price could not be secured to producers. If producers do not stand up for the fixed price they must accept their share of responsibility for not getting it. The Bill is designed to improve the existing machinery under the existing Act. It makes provision for the winding up of affairs of milk boards, limitation of supplies of milk to sale areas by creameries, duration of contracts, and other matters.
The first point is with regard to the winding up of a milk board and arises from the possibility that a supply may be held up. Circumstances may arise which may render the continued existence of a milk board undesirable or impracticable and, in fact, it would be necessary to dispose of its assets and discharge its liabilities. If, for instance, the milk board felt that things were better without it, legally we could not wind it up. If, on the other hand, I were to decide that things would be better without it, there is no provision for winding it up. There is no provision for this contingency in the Principal Act. The question arises then what to do, after winding up a board and discharging its liabilities, with any surplus that may remain. It would be quite impracticable to try to return that to the people who paid the levies and so on, and I think it would be impossible to make any sort of dividend payment to those concerned, as it would be comparatively small.
It is provided in the Act, therefore, that the Minister for Agriculture, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, will devote those funds to the benefit of agriculture or rural industries in the areas concerned. I think that is the best suggestion that could be made under the circumstances. Arising out of the stoppage of milk to Dublin in November, 1939, an undertaking was given that creameries which complied with requisitions for milk at that time would be guaranteed a place in the Dublin market if they wished to continue when the strike was over. Only a few of the creameries desire to remain. They have, of course, to comply with the Milk and Dairies Act of 1935, but those few creameries that desire to remain must get legal sanction under this Bill. They will be limited in the quantity that they can supply roughly to the average which they supplied during the days of that period. The position of producers in the Dublin area will not be affected to any great extent by allowing these creameries in. As a matter of fact, with the exception of a few months in the late spring and early summer the farmer-producers in the Dublin area are not able to keep up a supply to the City of Dublin and the city is largely dependent on creamery milk throughout the greater part of the year. During the winter especially, Dublin is very much dependent on the supplies from creameries.
There is another class of creamery, creameries which were supplying milk to Dublin when the original Act was passed—and when I speak of Dublin here I may say that the same applies to Cork, which is another area under the Act—and those creameries are registered under the Principal Act. No limit was put to the amount of milk they might supply, and there is always a certain danger that three or four of those very big creameries might combine and make it impossible for the suppliers in the Dublin area to exist. It is proposed here, therefore, to put some limit to the amount of milk they would send. It is proposed in practice, as a matter of fact, to have this quantity decided on the average over three years.
Power is taken in this Bill also to prescribe yearly contracts for the better regulation and stabilisation of the milk trade. There are a number of suppliers here in Dublin who think that the yearly contract would be one of the most effective provisions which could be devised. I myself have great faith in it, too, as the experience has been that the distributors here are willing to take all the milk that the County Wicklow or County Meath farmers can supply during the winter and early spring; but they are cut down to a certain quantity during the flush period and, sometimes, it is even lower than during the winter time. That is unfair, and this yearly contract would ensure that the farmer who supplies a certain quantity during the autumn and winter would at least have a market for that quantity during the flush period.
Under the Principal Act, it is unlawful for any producer, unless registered with a board, to sell milk in the sale area. In the event of a stoppage for any reason, there is a certain obstacle there with regard to getting supplies into the area. To overcome the difficulty, should it arise, I am asking for power in this Bill to issue licences to persons in a sale district to acquire milk from persons who are not registered under the milk board for that district.
I think I have dealt with the principal features of this Bill. With regard to one point that may be raised, because it is a point of controversy, if you like, it has been suggested to me that I should go much further and should set up a central marketing board here or agency for milk in the milk board areas. I am not prepared to do that, at the moment, at any rate. It may be possible later on. Proposals of this nature were made by me to the various sections of the milk trade in Dublin about 12 months ago but when we came down to discuss the scheme only the country producers were prepared to agree to such a scheme. Country producers, as distinct from what are commonly known as cow-keepers, or the producers who deliver their own milk mainly from door to door, although they supply a substantial quantity, do not supply the greater part of the milk in the City of Dublin. Their supplies are less than half. It was impossible, therefore, to adopt a suggestion which had the support of that section only.