asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the reasons why new hotels and new golf clubs are in a position to obtain quotas of tea, sugar, butter, cigarettes and spirits, whereas the proprietors of cafés and small restaurants, who cater for the poorer class of people, are refused such quotas.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Food Allocation.
On account of the limited supplies of tea, sugar and butter available, it was found necessary, as part of the rationing schemes for these goods, to restrict allowances for catering purposes to those catering establishments, including hotels, golf clubs, cafés and restaurants, which were in existence when rationing was brought into operation in 1941.
A concession was made, however, during the past year under which allowances of tea, sugar and butter were granted to newly-opened hotels. I regret that the continued shortage of supplies would not permit of the extension of this concession to newly-opened cafés, or other non-residential catering establishments. I have made no concession of this kind to new golf clubs.
The distribution of cigarettes and spirits is not controlled in detail and I cannot say what supplies of these commodities are made available to newly-established concerns of the type mentioned by the Deputy.
Exceptions have been made during the past 12 months. Exceptions are made for golf clubs into which a person can go and have any meal he likes.
What I told the Deputy was that no concession had been made to new golf clubs.
If I mention a golf club, will the Minister explain how they get their tea and sugar? This club was established during the past 12 months.
Certainly, they do not get them under the rationing scheme.
How is it that a small restaurant or café in Malahide, catering for poor people, cannot get tea or sugar, while the tourist hotel in Portmarnock can get all the tea and sugar it requires?
Any café or restaurant which was in existence in 1941 can get a ration of tea, sugar and butter.
Any café that is opened will get that ration?
I did not say that.
Would the Minister not consider some very exceptional cases in view of the fact that, according to disclosures by his inspectors in the Department of Supplies, there have been serious reductions in some of the allocations. For quite a number of years people were drawing a larger quota than that to which they were entitled and could not the Minister make an allocation in exceptional cases from the amount thus saved?
I do not think that you could deal with the business of making allowances to new cafés or restaurants on the basis of exceptional cases. The only reason why allowances cannot be given to those institutions is that their number would run into thousands and the supplies are not there to meet such a demand.
Why not use the sugar over in France?
The 60,000 tons of sugar!
6,000 tons.
Would the Minister reconsider cases of cafés and restaurants catering for fairs and markets in remote areas? I put up concrete cases to the Minister's Department.
Any café or restaurant which was in existence in 1941 gets its proper ration.
These establishments were not in existence in 1941 and I think they should get a small ration to enable them to cater for monthly fairs.
What has been done with the amount that has been saved in the cases to which I have referred? In one instance, a trader was getting 43 lb. of tea and he has been cut down to 12 lb. Surely, there must be some of that available?
There is too much tea in the country.