asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he is aware that a strike is at present in progress in the Clondalkin Paper Mills, County Dublin, and if he considers that, in all the circumstances, the existing protective import duties on paper are sufficient to enable the employers to provide adequate rates of wages and fair conditions of employment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Clondalkin Mills Strike.
I am aware of the matter referred to by the Deputy but I have no information on the subject other than that contained in newspaper reports. I am satisfied that the existing customs duties on paper are sufficient to enable the paper industry here to dispose of its products in competition with similar imported goods, while at the same time providing rates of wages and conditions of employment comparable to those obtaining in other similar industries.
Is the Minister aware that shift workers employed at Clondalkin are paid a wage as low as £4 per week? Will the Minister investigate this and other aspects of the present situation there with a view to securing the alleviation of the hardships caused to the workers and with a view to bringing about a speedy settlement of this dispute?
I do not think it is any part of my function to intervene in a wages dispute. So far as I am concerned, the protection afforded to this industry is sufficient to shield it against imports and it is, in my opinion, sufficient to enable it to pay fair wages and give fair conditions.
Does the Minister consider that £4 a week for shift workers is an adequate living wage?
That is not a matter for me.