I move amendment No. 1:—
In sub-section (3), line 34, to delete "in considering" and substitute "shall not consider".
Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 relate to sub-section (3). The Minister implied, although I am not sure he said it specifically, that it was not intended to give grants under this Bill to concerns proposing to manufacture commodities where the home market for those commodities was being met already by existing concerns. The Bill, however, is very weak in its expression of that intention. It provides that the Industrial Development Authority will have regard to the extent to which the existing market is being met by existing concerns. I think it is far better that that should be stated specifically, both from the point of view of making clear the intention of the Bill and of giving the Industrial Development Authority the basis upon which to refuse to consider applications which are to be debarred on that ground.
That is why I think the drafting of the Bill should be such as to make it quite clear that the Authority is not open to consider applications where they relate to the manufacturer of commodities which are already manufactured by existing concerns in adequate degree. That is to say, when somebody comes to the Authority, the Authority can say that there is a section of the Bill by virtue of which it cannot consider the application. As it stands now, the Authority can consider the application and then it has merely to take into consideration the extent to which the existing market is met. I think it will remove a great deal of apprehension amongst existing industrialists if it is made quite clear now that a grant will not be given to bring a new firm into competition with existing firms which have had no corresponding aid and whose activities are at present conducted on a scale which means they are supplying the whole of the home market.