asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether any examination has been made, by the Prices Section of his Department or by any other machinery, of the profits of contractors employed by Fuel Importers, Limited, for the haulage of turf to Dublin; whether any such examination has included a consideration of the terms of the contract entered into between the contractors and Fuel Importers, Limited, the manner of selection, the qualifications and experience required of the contractors selected, the conditions imposed by contractors on the lorry owners employed by them, including conditions as regards the purchase by the lorry owners of petrol and oil; and if he will state whether any standard rate of profit has been fixed; and, if so, its basis.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Haulage of Turf to Dublin.
No examination of the profits of contractors employed by Messrs. Fuel Importers (Eire) Limited, on the haulage of turf to Dublin has been made in my Department nor is such examination considered necessary in the case of contracts placed, as these have been, on the basis of open competitive tender. Before a contract is placed Fuel Importers (Eire) Limited, satisfy themselves, so far as is practicable, as to the ability of the contractor to undertake the work but their inquiries have no regard to the conditions of employment as between contractor and lorry owner. While the element of open competition obtains in the placing of these contracts the fixation of a standard rate of profit is unnecessary.
Will the Minister say why, in view of the extraordinary cost of haulage of turf, no examination into the cost of the various processes in hauling has been entered into?
A reasonable cost for the haulage of turf was estimated departmentally. So far as I know, the contracts have been placed by Fuel Importers, Limited, at or below that cost.
Is the Minister aware that there is considerable complaint that contractors have been appointed who had no experience of haulage of any kind; that some of them had no experience of motoring matters except that they owned a petrol station; and that part of the conditions that they impose on lorry drivers who take haulage contracts from them consists of a requirement that they will buy all their oil and petrol at the petrol station of the contractor, involving, so far as the contractor is concerned, substantial profits on oil and petrol, and involving, so far as the lorry drivers are concerned, unnecessary mileage and use of petrol in travelling to such petrol station which is normally out of their way?
I have no information on these matters. I approved of Fuel Importers, Ltd., placing these contracts by open competition. The matters to which the Deputy referred do not appear to be either my concern or the concern of Fuel Importers, Limited.
Is it not the concern of the Minister in conserving petrol supplies and in keeping down the price of turf to see that the practices that are in operation in the placing of contracts and the hauling of turf and the collection of petrol and oil are such as will eliminate every possible waste?
Certainly, but there is a limit to which the Government can interfere in these matters. I am surprised to hear the Deputy arguing in favour of Government interference; I should have thought he would favour the system of placing these contracts through open competitive tenders.
The Minister misses my point. The Minister has very elaborate powers from this House to keep down the cost of living, including the cost of turf, and he is aware that nothing has stood out more in the cost of things than the cost of turf, and particularly the cost of the transport of turf. Surely he cannot avoid his responsibility to investigate in every possible way what are the reasons for the high cost of turf and what are the processes that give rise to the extraordinary cost in the transport of turf. The Minister surely must be responsible for considering whether there are practices in operation as between the fuel importers and the contractors, or the contractors and the hauliers, that give rise to unnecessary costs and unnecessary profits to the contractors.
The contract is awarded to those contractors who undertake to do the work at the lowest cost.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether any proposals for the haulage of turf to Dublin have been made by the Irish Lorry Owners' Association to Fuel Importers, Limited; and whether, in view of the desirability of reducing the cost of transport charges on turf, he has had these proposals examined and compared with the costs of transport which have hitherto been incurred.
Experience has shown that the most effective method of reducing the transport charges on road-hauled turf is that adopted by Fuel Importers since 1944 of placing haulage contracts on the basis of open competitive tenders. I understand such a tender was received from the Irish Lorry Owners' Association for current haulage work but that the terms quoted were less favourable than those of other concerns with whom contracts have been placed.