Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 5 Dec 1957

Vol. 164 No. 10

Control of Imports (Quota No. 45) (Amendment Order, 1957: Motion of Approval.

Minister for Industry and Commerce (Mr. S. Lemass)

I move:—

That Dáil Éireann hereby approves of Control of Imports (Quota No. 45) (Amendment) Order, 1957.

The House is aware that Orders made by the Government under the Control of Imports Acts require confirmation within a period of six months. This Order will expire during the Recess if the motion to confirm it is not passed now.

The effect of the Order is to bring within the scope of the Control of Imports Order men's and boys' pyjama cloths which have more than 90 threads to the inch in the warp. When the quota Order was being prepared it was decided to exclude from its scope certain finely woven materials which were not manufactured in the Irish mills and to confine the Order to the heavier cloths, striped flannelettes, produced by the Irish mills. There has, however, been a substantial importation of these flannelette cloths which were brought outside the scope of the Order because they contained more than 90 ends per inch in the warp and it is considered desirable, after consultation with all the interests concerned, to bring these cloths subject to control. The extent of the quota will be, as usual, determined in consultation with the interests concerned, but it is considered necessary for the protection of the employment given in the Irish mills to extend the scope of the Quota Order to cover this type of cloth.

Mr. Sweetman

I understood the Minister to say that this covers men's and boys' pyjamas.

Mr. S. Lemass

Men's and boys' pyjama cloths.

Mr. Sweetman

I understand, though I do not pose as an expert upon the subject, that occasionally pyjamas are worn otherwise than by men and boys. Could they come in as that type of apparel and then be switched over?

Mr. S. Lemass

My brief says only men's and boys' pyjama cloths are affected by this Order.

General Mulcahy

Can such pyjamas be worn in O'Connell Street?

Mr. S. Lemass

There is no restriction of any kind.

Mr. Norton

On a point of information. I take it these materials are coming in as cloths and not as pyjamas?

Mr. S. Lemass

It affects the cloths only.

Mr. Norton

By what process has it been decided that that particular cloth is pyjama cloth and cannot be used for frocks?

Mr. S. Lemass

That is a matter of pattern.

Mr. Norton

I know, but suppose somebody said: "I want this cloth but I have no intention of converting it into pyjamas; I am going to convert it into frocks or dresses of some kind or another." Suppose someone is going to convert the cloth into frocks or dresses. There is no such cloth made as pyjama cloth. How can you identify it and say that it is pyjama cloth which is used only in the manufacture of pyjamas? How do you describe it as pyjama cloth?

General Mulcahy

Can it be used as a divided skirt a la pyjamas?

Mr. S. Lemass

For the purposes of the Order, it is defined as cloth with a certain woven texture. The definition in the Order is quite clear.

Mr. Norton

Therefore, it is not just pyjama cloth. It is a cloth and how do men's and boys' pyjamas come into the Minister's brief? The cloth is not pyjama cloth; it is cloth of a certain texture. Can this cloth be used for anything else if the person declared that he intended using it for men's and boys' pyjamas?

Mr. S. Lemass

It is intended to control the quantity of the cloth and not the quality. The control will be exercised by giving licence under the quota Order to manufacturers and it is intended that the quantity they import will have a stated relationship with the quantity of similar cloth produced by Irish mills.

Mr. Norton

How will the Minister use the Order? The question of men's and boys' pyjamas have nothing to do with the Order at all. It seems to me that no matter what the cloth is to be used for, it will still be subject to control and whether it is for men's and boys' pyjamas or not has nothing to do with the Order. I want to make sure that this Order will not be used in such a way that somebody can import the cloth by declaring that it is not intended for use in the manufacture of men's and boys' pyjamas and then use it for that purpose.

Mr. S. Lemass

The Order confines the import licence to manufacture of men's and boys' pyjamas.

Mr. Norton

If it is imported under a declaration that it is not intended for use in men's and boys' pyjamas, it cannot be used otherwise.

Mr. S. Lemass

The Deputy is not as unfamiliar with the procedure as he would pretend to be.

Mr. Dillon

I assume that this is a flannelette cloth of a character which is ordinarily used in the manufacture of nightwear. Is it intended now that nobody will be allowed to make these garments on the domestic sewing machine? I should imagine that in this country at the moment half the nightwear is manufactured in the home. People do not buy the made-up garments which are relatively expensive. If imports of this flannelette are to be confined to the manufacturers, does the House seriously suggest that no countrywoman in Ireland with a family of children can buy flannelette for the purpose of making pyjamas?

Mr. S. Lemass

She can, of course. There is quite a considerable production of this cloth within the country and the amount produced last year came up to 200,000 square yards.

Mr. Dillon

Does the Minister feel that the domestic production will be adequate to provide material for the domestic manufacture of these garments? I imagine that what the Minister has in mind as pyjama cloth is the cloth with the broad stripes alternative in colour and white, but I know that a very large quantity of plain coloured cloth is used in the home manufacture of these garments.

Mr. S. Lemass

These quota Orders were defined to bring within their scope only the types of cloth manufactured here and to leave outside their scope the kind of cloth which it was necessary to import. They are being altered as the manufacture of cloth here has increased. That situation has now arisen in regard to these pyjama cloths and the possibility of increased production of such cloths here has arisen. If it is found necessary to import such cloths to meet home requirements, quota licences will be issued for the importation, but, as the production of the Irish cloth increases, the importation of the outside product will be reduced.

Question put and agreed to.