asked the Taoiseach if he will state the estimated sum paid annually in freight on cargoes entering ports in this State direct from ports in Britain.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Freightage on Imports.
No particulars are available from which it is possible directly to estimate the total freight on cargoes from Great Britain to this country. However, the difference between the free-on-board (f.o.b.) value of exports and re-exports from Great Britain and the Six Counties to this country, as given in the British trade and navigation accounts, and the costinsurance-freight (c.i.f.) value of Irish imports consigned from these areas was £3.3 million in 1950, the last year for which relevant particulars are available. Such a difference should represent the cost of freight and insurance on these imports, but owing to the time-lags which arise and the fact that the particulars are obtained from different sources, it is not possible to state definitely that the figure quoted provides an accurate estimate of these elements.