asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether Mr. J. P. Byrne, importer and merchant, 38 Dame Street, Dublin, made an application, last September, for a licence to import 50,000 tons of white flour from America; if he will state the reasons for his refusal to grant this application, in view of the serious shortage of flour and bread which followed; whether similar applications for licences to import flour were made to his Department and refused; and if he will make a general statement as to the Government policy in refusing such applications.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Importation of Flour.
I refer the Deputy to the Dáil Debates for January 29th, when I dealt fully with this matter. As I pointed out on that occasion, the position has been and still is, that flour may not be exported from the United States without the authority of an export licence granted by the United States Government and such licences are granted only in respect of the quantities of flour allocated by the United States to the importing country. No such allocation has been made to this country since last August. Many traders, including the trader named in the question, have had offers of flour from United States firms, but in the absence of an allocation in favour of this country these offers are worthless. It is settled policy to import supplies of foreign wheat and flour through Grain Importers (Eire), Limited, the non-profit making company set up for that purpose. This is desirable not only from the point of view of keeping the cost of imports as low as possible but also to secure the orderly distribution of supplies as well as facilitating the payment of the flour subsidy.
Can the Minister explain why Mr. Byrne was informed when he made application in September that there was no real danger of a shortage?
Mr. Byrne was not so informed.
I was present when Mr. Byrne interviewed an officer of the Minister's Department and I can assure the House and the Minister that Mr. Byrne was informed that there was no serious danger of a shortage. He was further informed that he could not be given a licence. I should like the Minister to explain that. If it was the policy of the American Government not to export, surely it should be the policy of our Government to import wherever possible and any merchant or citizen who was in the position to import or who was made an offer should have been given every facility and should not have been refused a licence.
As to the first part of the Deputy's supplementary question, I can only say that there is a conflict of evidence. I am assured by the officer who interviewed the gentleman named and the Deputy—and I have seen his record of the discussion—that no statement of the kind quoted was made. I am prepared to accept that officer's word on the subject. As regards the second part of the supplementary question, there is an obvious advantage in confining the imports of whatever wheat and flour is allocated to this country to one importing organisation. Not merely does that ensure that firms here would not be bidding against each other for whatever supplies are allocated to us, but it also has the effect of eliminating private profit and thus reducing the cost of supplies, while it facilitates distribution and the payment of the subsidy.