I noted that when the Minister was introducing his Estimate he said that last year, 1957, was a year of recovery. It goes without saying, of course, that statement was welcomed by everyone in this House, because we are all trying to achieve recovery from the economic blitz which hit this country in 1956 and prior to that. However, when the Minister referred to 1957 as being a year of recovery, he conveniently forgot to mention the reason for that recovery. It was due to the steps taken by the previous Government in an effort to redress the very bad balance in regard to our external trade. In great measure I would say the levies imposed by the previous Minister for Finance, Deputy Sweetman, did the work which they were intended to do, with the result that the Minister for Industry and Commerce was able to come into the House the other day and say that 1957 was a year of recovery.
However, when we read the papers and see that in 1958 the pendulum is beginning to swing back it is time for us to take stock again. There are signs that the adverse balance of trade is increasing considerably. I admit it is the present Government's policy to do what it can to stimulate production in every sphere and, in their efforts to do so, they will naturally have the full support of every Party in this House. The Minister described the various measures which the Government intended to implement, and which they are implementing at the present time, to achieve this stimulus to production. The previous Government did something to try to increase production; Governments in the past did likewise but, in my opinion, no matter what any Government does to achieve that very important goal of increased production their efforts will be in vain unless there is harder work from everybody. When I say "harder work" I refer not only to ordinary workers throughout the country but also to those who employ those workers, those at management level.
I would suggest also, in order to inject into industry the much needed capital which the country requires, if we are to succeed in our efforts to achieve increased production, that capital might be found if banks and insurance companies were more ready to provide the money. It is good to note that in recent times the banks have expressed a greater readiness and a greater willingness to do so. The Minister referred to the step which one Irish assurance company took recently when it said it would be prepared to provide capital needed for increased production. I hope and trust that many other insurance companies will follow suit.
Another pleasing thing to note is the recent step taken by the employees of Arthur Guinness & Co., and also by the members of the Local Government Officials' Union, who decided to donate a certain proportion—a very small proportion, admittedly—of their salaries towards setting up a fund for starting some industries in their particular areas. Of course, the little mite stopped from those people's wages is very small. It represents the widow's mite but, please God, it will grow and grow and achieve something worth while.
Mention has been made during the debate of the infusion of foreign capital into this country. I have read accounts in the newspapers of criticisms levelled at the step the Government is taking to attract foreign capital. These criticisms say that Irish industrialists are being sacrificed to make way for foreigners. The critics conveniently forget—I do not know if it is conveniently or not but they do forget—that the same privilege and the same aids are given to them, if they want them, to increase their export trade. The main reason the Government is anxious to attract foreign capital is to be in a position to promote the export of our products, and it would be interesting to know, or ascertain if it were possible, what benefits have accrued since this step was intensified to attract foreign capital.
How many people have become employed or how many factories have been set up as the result of foreign capital coming in? I am not asking these questions in any spirit of criticism; I am just asking them as a matter of curiosity. In connection with attracting foreign capital to this country, it is very important that technical training of apprentices be intensified and modernised as much as possible. Having that end in view I would suggest the Minister should whisper into the ear of his colleague, the Minister for Education, and ask him to provide as much money as possible for the equipping of vocational schools so that vocational teachers will be able to teach and train the apprentices who pass through their hands. These apprentices, in later years, will become the craftsmen of this country and will be able to justify the confidence which any foreign industrialist may place in them.
Mention was made of how the free Trade Area will affect this country. I should like to take this opportunity to pay a tribute to the Minister for the many public statements he made as the months progressed. He went to Europe and to London many times to ascertain the various implications of this project as they would affect our country and, even though he could not give many concise or exact details of the project, he kept us abreast of the various moves made. Whether or not this proposed Free Trade Area will materialise in fact is very hazy, especially in view of recent developments in France which was one of the countries which mooted this project originally. Assuming it will materialise, it is of importance that we should know where we stand.
Deputy Lynch referred to the agreements which we have with Britain at the present time, and asked how would those agreements fare in a Free Trade Area. He said preferences were given by Britain to us, and by us to Britain, and he asked would those preferences be removed in a Free Trade Area or would we be asked to give preferences to Holland, Belgium, France and other countries on the Continent. My impression of the proposed Free Trade Area working arrangements is that there will be no preferences at all. Each country will be free to import and export its various commodities, without restriction within that particular area only. If we go into the European Free Trade Area and Britain does not, it will mean that we cannot export our cattle to Britain and, as we know, our cattle trade with Britain is valued at approximately £50,000,000 a year. It is very important we should safeguard ourselves in that respect.
I agree that, this being an underdeveloped country, it would be entitled to favourable consideration from those who will manage the Free Trade Area, for about 15 years. That is a very involved subject and I am not very competent to discuss it, but I could not help making these remarks. I will leave that subject, expressing the hope that, if we go into the area, our native industries will be safeguarded as much as possible. I have in mind a particular industry in my constituency, the boot and shoe industry. We have a big number of such factories in County Louth and if foreign shoes and boots are allowed in indiscriminately, it will do very much harm. However, I feel sure that those who guide our destinies in that regard will keep these matters in mind.
The Minister referred to the various ports around the coast and, in particular, said that the port of Drogheda in my constituency has a scheme pending. That scheme envisages the building of wharves and the dredging of certain sections of the river. As the Minister said, very much increased activity has been evident in this port in recent years. It is imperative that the port be brought up to modern standards. That is why the Drogheda Harbour Board is doing all it can to meet the situation. Of course, there are the usual impediments. Vested interests are complaining that their interests will be in jeopardy. For instance, there is the mussel trade, which is flourishing in Mornington; and also the salmon interests are in danger. I hope the various interests will be reconciled eventually and that this scheme will proceed. I also hope the Minister will expedite the sanctioning of the scheme and that he will issue as liberal a grant as possible.
With regard to provincial ports, it is unfortunate that in recent years they have been suffering great hardship. One of the reasons for that is the change in the import of coal. I have in mind the port of Dundalk in particular. Coal is being imported now through Dublin instead of Dundalk and that has hit Dundalk port very much. Of course, when one looks at it from another angle, one cannot quibble, because it seems that it means cheaper coal for the people and I would be the last to say that that is wrong. However, I see that £250,000 is being allotted for the improvement of various ports and harbours and I hope that will to some degree improve the situation of our provincial ports.
Mention has been made here of tourism. Together with other Deputies, I am glad to see that a sum of £40,000 has been added to the usual grant to An Bord Fáilte, with the result that they are getting £440,000 to further the tourist industry. We all agree that the advancement of tourism is very important. Any money invested in that industry is a safe investment. On an average, I would say that it yields us about £30,000,000 annually. Many people will say that a large percentage of that is in the form of remittances from emigrants. However, it is money coming in which would not come in otherwise. I would ask the Minister to impress on his colleague, the Minister for External Affairs, the importance of having those spikes planted on certain roads along the Border removed as soon as possible. Now, especially during the summer months, they are a deterrent to prospective tourists from the North of Ireland. I hope the Minister will do what he can and use what influence he has with his colleague in that regard.
I am glad to see that the recent innovation with regard to the admission of foreign coach tours has met with success. The Minister told us that already nine applications for such tours had been approved. It would be interesting to know how many had applied already. Grave fears were expressed, when this proposal was first mooted, by various sections of our people, especially the trade unions. They were afraid that the introduction of foreign coach tours might impinge on their employment prospects. I do not think there is any danger in that regard, as certain safeguards have been introduced into this system of organising coach tours. It is very interesting to note that, in spite of the admission of foreign tours, C.I.E. has increased the number of its tours by 50 per cent. Therefore, I do not think the foreign coach tours will prove to be any serious competition to the native coach tours.
With regard to loans given to hotels for the improvement of their premises, I would urge the Minister to expedite their issue. Very often, there is a time lag between the application and the issue, with the result that people who might otherwise contemplate extending their hotel premises become discouraged when they hear of neighbours having to wait a long time before the loan is issued.
In the same way as many other people, I feel that An Tóstal does not serve the purpose for which it was set up, that is, the extension of the tourist season. Personally, I think that An Tóstal is held too early in the year, when the weather is not conducive to certain functions, especially open air functions, and does not attract tourists. I see that this whole question is to be reviewed very soon, so something may come from that review. I should like to express appreciation of the many organisations and voluntary committees which during recent years did so much trojan work in local areas to make An Tóstal a success. They were imbued with a fine civic spirit and I am sure I am expressing the feelings of many people when I say that they deserve the heartiest congratulations.
I should like to refer for a moment to the working of the Factories Act which was passed a year or two ago to help factory workers. There are many sections in the Act which might hurt small concerns. I would ask the Minister to instruct his inspectors to go somewhat slowly in their interpretation of the various provisions of this Act as it applies to small concerns which are struggling to exist. It is easy for a big concern to comply with certain conditions and to set up various committees to do this and to do that, but they want to be flush with money and the small concern has not got that money.
The Minister criticised the non-setting up of safety committees in factories and it is a pity that such committees have not been set up, because, as the Minister said, they were introduced for the express purpose of safeguarding the employees. I wonder is the reason they were not set up the fact that the management of the factories have not drawn the attention of the employees to the conditions attaching to the setting up of such committees. I would think it was the responsibility of the various managements to do so and so get the thing going, because when we recall that last year there were about 1,800 accidents in various factories throughout the country, it will be realised that these are essential and that it is in the interests of the workers to co-operate as much as possible with the management in the matter.
I was interested to read recently that legislation is contemplated in relation to apprentices. I trust that before the legislation is introduced the views of both sides, managements and workers, will be examined, so that the scheme will be a success, because it is very important that we should have a good apprentice scheme.
One perfect example of success in our efforts to attract foreign industry here is the present development of mineral exploration at Avoca. I was glad to see that the Government have lent £1,750,000 for further exploration and further activity at St. Patrick's Mines. The Minister said that one great difficulty and fear which he had with regard to the immediate working of this mine on an economic basis, was that the world prices of copper had declined to a dangerous level and he expressed the hope that world prices would rise soon so that this mine would get a chance to prove itself, and to justify the confidence which has been reposed in it by the infusion of so much money. It would be a disaster if world prices continued to fall and stayed at a low level, because this would mean that all the money which the Government and the foreign industrialists had pumped into it would be lost.
We welcome the Government's decision to restore the subsidy of 50 per cent. for capital purposes with regard to rural electrification and I am glad that the less populous areas are now to be attended to. The Minister said so, and he said that about 184 areas have yet to be done, 80 having been done last year. I wonder does this restoration of the subsidy mean that the special levy will be effective in favour of the consumer? I hope it does because the Minister knows full well that there is a serious objection to it. The special charge which is imposed on the people throughout the country is very burdensome, especially for those living on the fringe of areas in which the light is installed. People are more eager now to avail of the modern amenity of electricity and I trust this will give a further impetus to the completion of rural electrification.
I should like to refer to a point in regard to my constituency, which relates to the oft-recurring matter of Greenore. The Minister has often heard about it before and I should like to refer to the answer which he gave to the House on 23rd April last, when I asked him what was the purpose of the loan which had been given to Gypsum, Limited, in County Cavan. He said that the purpose of the loan was:—
"The purchase of Greenore port and railway station, the transfer of machinery and equipment from the factory of Weatherwell, Limited, at Clondalkin to Greenore, the manufacture of plaster board at Greenore, the development of a gypsum mine at Kingscourt and the provision of working capital."
And he went on to say:—
"As it was not feasible to arrange immediately for the transfer of the plaster board manufacture to Greenore, approval was subsequently given for an alteration in the purposes of the guaranteed loan, the effect of which was to delete from the purposes already approved:—
‘the transfer of machinery and equipment from the factory of Weatherwell, Limited, at Clondalkin to Greenore, and the manufacture of plaster board at Greenore'."
That is all very well. That is a laudable explanation of the position, but it does not satisfy those who lost their employment in Greenore when that port closed down some years ago, and I have been asked to raise this question here again. Two reasons are evident for the giving of this loan. One was to help this company to set up an industry in Greenore, and the second was specifically to help the port of Greenore. That money, I presume, was to be a sort of compensation for the injury inflicted on them when the Greenore port and the Greenore line closed down. I say one reason still remains why help should be given to this port, because the people still need work. They are still out of employment and, as a matter of fact, most of them have had to emigrate, but they are hoping something will be done.
I suggest that the idea of exporting cattle from Greenore should be examined. I do not know whether it is feasible or not, but with the facilities there, the marshalling, yards and so on, I cannot see why we do not set out to develop that port and export cattle from it. It is a deepwater port and it may be the only deepwater port between Dundalk and Belfast. With regard to the exporting of cattle, perhaps the Minister might contemplate setting it up as a tuberculosis free port. I do not know whether there are any possibilities in that or not.
Some months ago, 400 tons of timber were exported from Greenore to Holland. It was timber which grew in the local Ravensdale forest and one grievance which has been mentioned to me was that no local labour was employed for the loading and the shipping of this timber. I understand—I am not sure—that the labour was supplied by the Forestry Section which actually felled the trees and transported them down to Greenore, a distance of about 12 miles, but the local people in Greenore complained that they did not get any work. I hope if any further exports of such timber products are to be made from the port, that local labour will be employed as much as possible.
With regard to Coras Tráchtála Teoranta, I suggest that they coordinate their activities with the committee which has been set up for the marketing of agricultural produce. We know that the Minister and his colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, recently visited London in connection with the butter crisis. The result is we are confined now to the export of 14,000 tons of butter as against the 20,000 tons provided for in the relevant agreement. I would suggest that the efforts to find additional markets for our agricultural produce should be redoubled. With that end in mind, I think that a liaison between Coras Tráchtála Teoranta and the Agricultural Marketing Committee would be helpful. Coras Tráchtála Teoranta are, perhaps, in a better position than the Marketing Committee to know where possible additional markets may be.
I cannot sit down without referring to the transport services provided for in this Estimate. Two very important steps are being taken by the Minister to try and solve this hardy annual of the transport problem. He has introduced two Bills, one relating to C.I.E. and the other relating to the G.N.R. We know, of course, that the end of the agreement with the Northern authorities is in sight. In September they will terminate that agreement with the result that we shall have to make some provision for the future carrying on of the G.N.R. system as far as the Border. I do not intend to make any reference to the Bill which the Minister has introduced. I shall reserve whatever comments I have until next week when the Second Stage will be taken.
I want to refer to some statements made this afternoon by my colleague, Deputy Faulkner, when he gave the history, as he saw it, of the developments which led up to the formation of the Dundalk Engineering Works. I should also like to take this opportunity to thank the Minister very much for what he did in that regard and to express the hope that the confidence which Deputy Faulkner has in the Minister, and which I and many others share, will be justified by events.
In the course of his speech to-day Deputy Faulkner said that the Coalition should bear, and must bear, the blame for not doing what the Minister did when he set up the Dundalk Engineering Works. We must remember that the Coalition, represented by the former Minister for Industry and Commerce, Deputy Norton, consistently and persistently refused to agree to the closing of the three cross border lines closed last year. Such a proposition was put to the then Minister very often by his counterpart in Northern Ireland, but he continually refused to accept it. We know what happened when the present Minister went up. He went up in the morning, came down that night and the three cross border lines were closed. That was that. That was the contribution of the Coalition towards solving this problem; they refused to agree to the closing of the lines, but the present Minister did agree. Those are the facts.
Deputy Faulkner also referred to a number of motions protesting against the closing of these lines moved at the Louth County Council and also in the Seanad. I do not know what was Deputy Faulkner's reason for criticising those motions. It was our duty to move those motions and we did our duty as we saw it.
Deputy Faulkner also said that when the present Minister came into office, there was no plan on the Minister's desk in relation to the Dundalk works. The Minister then set up this company, and, as I said, I hope and trust very sincerely, because I know the feelings of the men down in Dundalk, that it will be a success. But Deputy Faulkner cannot accuse us in Dundalk of political agitation or of taking advantage politically of the position as it then was. They were certain protest marches made in Dundalk. Neither Senator Donegan, my colleague in Louth, nor myself had anything to do with those marches and would never have anything to do with them.
With regard to transport in general, I am sure the Minister saw in the papers last week where a section of a line, between Monaghan and Cavan, I think, which had been closed down was opened to accommodate people who wanted to go to a football match in Monaghan. Everything worked smoothly and the people were conveyed to and from the football match. I wonder would it not be possible to apply the same procedure, for instance, to the line going to Lough Derg, especially in the summer season? That, of course, would involve getting the permission of the Northern authorities to pass through their section of that particular line, but I should think that they would not object. If we were prepared to operate that line as a through service to Lough Derg for the few summer months in which the pilgrimages take place, it would help in some way.
Above all I would urge the Minister not to allow the company—C.I.E. as it will be then—to lift rails. It is a terrible mistake to lift rails and not make provision for a rainy day. God forbid that we should have another emergency in the country—a world war or a shortage of petrol—but if the rails were lifted, there would be no hope at all. The rails cannot be put down again because that would involve too much money. I do not think the maintenance of the line would involve a lot of money. It would be worth while and might pay big dividends in future years.
With regard to the Dundalk Engineering Works, leaving aside its connection with the railway, this House as we know passed a guaranteed loan of £500,000 to enable this company to be set up. We know they will not survive unless they can get foreign orders. I would think that Coras Tráchtála Teoranta might come into the picture here as well and help to get orders for this company. Since it has become more or less a private, commercial company on contract jobs, it is the biggest industry of its kind in the country and should merit special treatment. At the moment they are adapting the workshops with a view to setting in motion the various workings of the concern. Although a number of inter—union disputes are going on, I hope they will be reconciled and that they will get on with the job.
Will further financial assistance for the company be forthcoming from the Government? I doubt very much if the £500,000 which has been granted to them will last very long. I am afraid they will be coming to the Minister for a much larger sum. I hope if they ask him for further financial assistance, they will get it very willingly.
I was surprised that the Minister made no reference in his introductory statement to the report of the commission set up to investigate the possibilities of introducing atomic energy into this country. I have read extracts from the report. It was suggested that a nuclear reactor should be built and that it should be sited, above all places, in Dublin. I was very surprised at that suggestion and I hope the Minister will not implement that recommendation in relation to the location of the reactor. We are all agreed that a nuclear reactor would benefit the country. The initial financing involved in this kind of project may be prohibitive. The commission gave figures and set down the cost at £300,000 with an additional £30,000 per annum for maintenance. The setting up of this type of installation is not in the same category as the setting up of a factory. There is an excuse to a certain extent for setting up factories in Dublin and along the coast because in that way transport charges are reduced. I fail to see why a nuclear reactor should be set up in such a built-up area as Dublin.
One of the terms of reference of this commission related to the possible dangers to public health. Remembering that, I wonder why the committee recommended Dublin. I hope the Minister will avail of the opportunity, if and when the recommendation comes to be implemented, of proving that he is against centralisation by sending this reactor, if it materialises, down to somewhere in the provinces. The same argument applies to the fertiliser factory about which we have heard so much and which may be built some time.
I am surprised that the Government did not send some delegate to or have some representation at the Brussels Exhibition. Millions of people from all over the world will pass through the gates of that exhibition. The exhibition will run for about nine months and it provides us with a golden opportunity of publicising what we have to offer to the world. I can recall the brochure issued by the Industrial Development Authority recently setting out the attractions and conditions in regard to foreign industrialists who might wish to found industries here. I wonder has that brochure found its way over to Brussels. We can rest assured that there will be many industrialists knocking about that exhibition. I am surprised we have no stand and no delegate there. Perhaps the Minister will give us some explanation for that omission.
Our efforts to solve the terrible evil of unemployment will not come to fruition unless there is a calmer atmosphere in industrial relations and unless there is a greater degree of consultation between workers and employers. Each side has a contribution to make. If workers were less inclined to take strike action and employers showed more earnestness in their efforts to offset wage increases by increased production, things would improve very considerably. It must be admitted that, compared with other countries, we have a good record so far as trade disputes are concerned. It is, however, our bounden duty to co-operate, one with the other. If employers would do everything possible to increase the employment content in their respective concerns and if workers were more conscientious about doing a fair day's work for a fair day's pay this country would be a better place to live in.
