On to-day's Order Paper there were two questions, one over the name of Deputy Davin and one over my name. These questions related to the considerable embarrassment caused to watch importers through goods consigned to them from Switzerland being held up by the customs authorities, largely because of the interference of the Department of Finance. The first question was as follows:——
To ask the Minister for Finance if he will state (a) the number and (b) the value of Swiss watches invoiced to Irish nationals now held by the customs section of the General Post Office; the period for which and the grounds on which they are so held; whether, if these goods are held on his instructions, he will state the grounds on which such instructions were framed, and the nature of the inquiries made by him regarding the effect such instructions will have on employment in the retail jewellery and kindred trades, and on the credit abroad of Irish importers.
The second question was:—
To ask the Minister for Finance if he is aware that the banks have been forbidden by his Department to buy foreign currency for the purpose of enabling their customers to pay for quantities of Swiss watches held for their customers by the customs authorities; whether this prohibition was based on the grounds that the demand for foreign currency could not be met by his Department; and, if so, whether he will state why the Department refused later to release watches where the Swiss exporters have intimated their willingness to give delivery without any transfer of foreign currency or of sterling from this country; and, further, whether he will state why Irish importers are prohibited from taking delivery of goods already lying in this country in circumstances which do not involve the buying of foreign currency or the export of Irish currency.
The Minister, in the course of his replies, admitted that these goods had been held up for a period amounting, in some cases, to no less than five months, and he gave as an excuse for not permitting the goods to be paid for in the manner suggested by the importers that the payment to an account in an Irish bank in the name of the Swiss firms would create a liability to Switzerland at a future date. In answer to that I would like to point out that the release of these watches would keep the jewellery trade in existence here, it would keep a large number of people in employment, and the money, having regard to the manner in which the payment was suggested, would be in an Irish bank under the control of the Minister for Finance.
It is interesting to observe that the Minister found no difficulty in permitting payment for a consignment of cigars from Cuba and wines from Portugal. Some of these cigars are retailed at as much as £4 10s. for 25. Surely nobody will deny that these come under the heading of luxuries. The Minister, in adopting this attitude in relation to the import of watches, is following the same lines as the Government followed two years ago in regard to tea, wheat, petrol and other commodities which are not now obtainable. In September, 1940, a tea importer asked permission to import a cargo of tea which he had bought in the United States, but permission was refused. When the tea became scarce, the Government approached the importer, but tea was not then available. The position at the moment, in so far as the import of watches is concerned, is that the Swiss frontier is closed, and will remain so until the end of the war, and no more watches or clocks will be available for export. The export of British and American watches and clocks has stopped.
I must say that the Minister's replies to-day were evasive. The Minister's explanation that these watches were being held because the customs duty was not paid is nothing more than an evasion on his part. How on earth could the importers pay the duty? The banks could not release the documents until they had permission to do so. Of course, the moment the documents are released the Minister would collect no less than £10,000 in duty. At the moment there are no less than £30,000 worth of watches in the hands of the customs authorities. The traders are sorely in need of them in order to give them to their customers.
It seems that the real position in this matter is that the Minister is not master in his own house. I can well understand his difficulties in relation to sterling. We know that he is acting under the direction of his unwhipped mistress, the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street. Surely the Minister should make an effort to accommodate the watch importers in this country and maintain the employment given in this particular trade.
It should be clearly understood in relation to this matter that the moment the embargo was put on by the Department of Finance these traders discontinued placing orders in Switzerland. Owing to the war situation, orders had to be placed for a very considerable time before consignments of goods could be delivered. Many months elapsed between the time orders were placed and the delivery of the goods here in Dublin. The whole position now is that these traders ordered their goods before any Order was made by the Department of Finance, before any embargo was placed on import, and the goods have been lying in Dublin for a very considerable time now. I seriously suggest to the Minister that, having regard to the readiness of the Swiss firm to accept payment in the manner already indicated to his Department, he could, without in any way conflicting with the Order made by the Department some months ago, facilitate these importers in having the goods released.
There is one final point to which I should like to draw the Minister's attention. Does he realise the damaging effect on the credit of firms in this country which have been dealing with firms in Switzerland in not paying for goods ordered by them? Already there has been very considerable delay, and I suggest that if the Minister does not adopt the scheme or plan with which both parties are satisfied, he is doing an unnecessary, and a very grave, injustice to Irish nationals in this trade.
