I asked to-day whether the Minister is aware that certain electrolytic condensers were being imported from the United States in the Irish Alder, arriving outside Dublin on the 18th May and delivering its cargo at Cork on the 23rd May, and that it was found the customs duty on these condensers had been increased from 25 to 75 per cent. on the day they arrived outside the Port of Dublin. My purpose in raising the matter now is that I consider the case an important one and that it has very important bearings on the activities of commercial firms who, in difficult circumstances, are scouring the world trying to get supplies for this country which are urgently needed. In the particular case which I propose to refer to, an important class of people are being badly affected, namely, those who have wireless sets requiring repairs of one kind or another and who are depending upon the import of parts by the various importers to get their sets kept in order. Perhaps even more important is the necessity for an understanding in this House and among the people generally of what exactly the Government are doing in relation to certain things and for avoiding actions and practices by the Government that really outrage common-sense.
The case that I raised to-day and raised again last week is that of the firm of Messrs. L.R. Wood, Limited, Cork, who are official contractors to the Electricity Supply Board, the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, the Department of Local Government and the Department of Defence, and who deal in electrical and radio products. Before November last a number of communications were addressed to the Department of Industry and Commerce asking for shipping space to import articles connected with wireless from the United States, and on the 13th November the firm were advised, in reply to a number of letters of various dates asking for space on shipping operated by Irish Shipping, Limited, that the Department had decided that, with a view to expediting the arrangement of shipping, the application should be made direct to Irish Shipping, Limited. That was done and, on 22nd November, the Department wrote the firm saying that, before any definite commitment was entered into for the purchase of these goods, the firm should ensure, by reference to their bankers, that the necessary currency facilities for the purchase of the goods or for any incidental charges would be available.
The communication from the Department took cognisance of the fact that the firm wished to import 25,000 electrolytic condensers weighing approximately 18 cwts.; that the sellers were the Murbas Trading Company, 133-137 Front Street, New York. Through their bankers, the firm therefore applied for the necessary facilities to get dollars to make the payment and in a letter of the 10th December their bankers, the Provincial Bank of Ireland, wrote to the firm:
"With reference to your letter of the 26th ultimo enclosing application for 5,000 dollars approximately and instructions to open credit in favour of the Murbas Trading Company for the purchase of 25,000 electrolytic condensers, please note that this has been approved by the Department of Finance and we await your instructions to cable the opening of the credit in terms of duplicate Foreign Credit From herewith."
Therefore, the Department of Industry and Commerce, knowing the type of goods that were to be imported, facilitated the firm with regard to shipping space through Irish Shipping Limited, and the Department of Finance made the necessary arrangements that that firm would get the dollars necessary to finance the transaction.
The order was given on the 9th January to the firm in New York and, on 2nd April, 11,000 electrolytic condensers were invoiced to the firm in Cork. The shipping was handled by the agent of Irish Shipping, Limited, in New York and the actual shipment took place on 26th April on the Irish Alder. The vessel arrived outside Dublin on the 18th May and then proceeded to Cork and arrived in Cork on 23rd May. The position is that the firm, having intimated to the Department that they proposed to import electrolytic condensers to the number of 25,000 at a cost of 5,000 dollars and having been facilitated in every way by the Department of Industry and Commerce and by the Department of Finance found, when they went through the long process under present circumstances of getting the goods in New York and having them shipped over here, that by the time the vessel arrived outside the port of Dublin a new tariff had been clapped on.
That is a very extraordinary state of affairs. The Minister has explained that he will allow a remission of duty to certain classes of firms and has indicated that the type of firms to whom he will allow a remission of duty will be firms undertaking the manufacture of electrolytic condensers here or who are assembling wireless sets. There are some hundreds of thousands of wireless sets in this country, many of them requiring repairs of one kind or another. Assuming that a substantial wireless assembly industry is to be set up here and that electrolytic condensers are to be manufactured here—anybody with whom I have been in touch and who has any knowledge of the wireless business declares that will not take place because they say that even in Great Britain there are only about two firms manufacturing these condensers—why, under the present difficult circumstances, should those people who have old radio sets and do not want to go to the expense of purchasing new ones have the repairing or keeping their sets in order made more expensive? But why, particularly, should firms who are giving the service that these people want, and who, in difficult times, have tried to get the necessary parts, be served by the Department of Industry and Commerce as they have been served? They were given certain facilities and then they found as soon as the goods arrived at the port, or a couple of hours before that, an increased tariff was clapped on them. The tariff was raised from 25 per cent. to 75 per cent.
I think some explanation is required from the Minister. Before the 18th May he had already received intimation from firms throughout the country that they desired to import certain parts for wireless sets. He gave them all the facilities for doing so. Why, when these transactions are completed, does he not extend to them the facilities that he is apparently prepared to extend to people who, at some time or other, are going to manufacture wireless sets here? I suggest that a very clear explanation should be given as to why, knowing that these people were trying to bring in these parts and were getting facilities from the Minister, they were not allowed in free of duty.
Certain circumstances arose in the meantime, because I take it he did not give these people facilities to import these articles, knowing before they were going to come in that he would raise the tariff. I ask him, in the first place, to waive the customs duty in respect of people who gave him full notice beforehand that they were trying to import these things and whom he did not stop before they did so. In the second place, I ask him to take into consideration the people who require their wireless sets mended as against the people who require new sets. If it is outside the scope of the question to-night, I suggest that on some other day the Minister ought to tell us the policy he is pursuing in raising the customs duty on wireless parts to the extent to which he is raising them in order to encourage a wireless manufacturing industry here. We should get some kind of information as to the prospects before that industry.
While we would all like to see a wireless manufacturing industry developed in the country, we feel it is really outraging common-sense and leaves a bad impression on one's mind when we observe the way people, who have been putting their cards on the table for the Minister in the past, telling him they wanted to import certain things connected with wireless apparatus and having had extended to them facilities for so doing, were treated. As soon as the ship was sighted outside the port of Dublin, the tariff was increased. If the tariff were delayed for 24 hours the supplies would have come in under the smaller figure of 25 per cent.
