I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. This is the customary Bill to give effect to the imposition of certain Orders which are made from time to time and which must be confirmed by subsequent legislation. The purpose of the Bill, as set out in the explanatory memorandum which I have circulated to Deputies, is to confirm eight Orders made by the Government under the Emergency Imposition of Duties Act, 1932. One of these Orders, entitled—Emergency Imposition of Duties (Finance Act, 1954) (Consequential Provisions) Order, 1954—provided for amendments in certain customs duties consequent on the termination of other customs duties in the Finance Act, 1954. These amendments did not impose any new duty provisions. They were necessary so as to prevent anomalies arising in duties which were related to the duties terminated in the Finance Act. The commodities covered by the remaining seven Orders are as follows:—drive screws and drive screw nails; metal coffin mountings; disinfectants, antiseptics, insecticides, verminicides, vermicides, fungicides and weed-killers; fireside companion sets; felt hats and caps for men or boys; electric smoothing irons; knitted woolen cardigans, pullovers, jerseys, blouses and similar articles.
The customs duties imposed on drive screws and drive screw nails and on fireside companion sets are new protective duties. The firm engaged in the production of nails and screws extended its production to cover drive screws and applied for and was granted protection for this development. In the case of fireside companion sets the production of these articles was undertaken for the first time and a very wide range of sets at reasonable prices was put on the market by the firm concerned.
In the case of metal coffin mountings the Order extended the scope of the duty already in existence so as to include partly manufactured mountings and component parts of mountings. The object of this Order was to stop the practice which was developing of importing partly manufactured articles to the detriment of an existing firm which was carrying out the complete range of manufacturing operations.
The Order dealing with disinfectants, etc., provided for a customs duty on disinfectants, antiseptics, insecticides, verminicides, vermicides, fungicides and weed-killers. These goods, other than antiseptics and weed-killers, had previously been subject to customs duty, but the duty was suspended in 1942 for supply reasons. Owing to difficulties of definition a number of items not being manufactured here became subject to duty under this Order and, following consultation with the Irish manufacturers and with the Department of Agriculture, arrangements were made for the issue of duty-free licences for articles which the Irish manufacturers are unable to supply or for which suitable substitutes are not available from home sources.
The Order dealing with felt hats and caps for men and boys provided for an increase in the minimum rates of duty already chargeable on these articles, as the existing rate of duty had proved ineffective in protecting the Irish factories against imports of cheap hats.
In the case of electric smoothing irons, the customs duty already in existence covered irons up to 7 lb. in weight. The present Order increased the dutiable weight limit from 7 lb. to 8 lb. The reason for this was that certain importers were evading the duty by bringing in irons weighing slightly over 7 lb.
The Order dealing with knitted woollen cardigans, pullovers, jerseys, blouses and similar articles provided for an increase in the customs duty already chargeable on those articles. The Order was made following a review of the operation of the customs duty and of the quantitative restrictions on the importation of the articles, carried out by the Industrial Development Authority under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement.