asked the Minister for Agriculture if he has received a petition from Rath Farmers' Association requesting the erection of a creamery in the parish; and if he will permit the travelling creamery to operate until a suitable creamery is built.
7.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Rath (West Cork) Creamery.
6.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he has received a petition from the milk suppliers of Rath Parish to provide a creamery in their district; and, if so, what action he has taken in the matter.
I propose, a Cheann Comhairle, with your permission, to take Questions Nos. 6 and 7 together.
I recently received the petition referred to and asked the Dairy Disposal Company for a report on the position. The report indicates that in order to enable separated milk to be pasteurised before return to milk suppliers, the Company is withdrawing the travelling creamery which stopped at two points in the Rath area, West Cork. The milk supplies at these stops are not sufficient to enable a cream-separating station to be operated economically in the district and, accordingly, the Company has decided to have the milk carted to the central creamery at Aghadown. As it would not be in the interests of the milk suppliers to defer the provision of pasteurised separated milk, withdrawal of the travelling creamery will be effected within the next week. I do not propose to interfere in the Company's arrangements in the matter.
Is the Minister aware that before the Dairy Disposal Company initiated travelling creameries in this part, there were five separating stations operating economically in the area? Is it not reasonable for the farmers there to request that one creamery shall now be erected in the parish? It is a congested area and one which requires special treatment. It is a peninsula and this system of cartage of milk is new to the farmers.
The Deputy is making a speech.
I am coming to the point. If the farmers of the area decide within the next few days to accept cartage and if after six months they decide by majority vote that it is unsuitable for their requirements will the Minister give a permit to the Dairy Disposal Company to erect a co-operative creamery in this parish?
The Dairy Disposal Company, according to my information, have gone into this matter very fully and on the peak supply figures no one could justify the establishment of a permanent operating station there. To erect a permanent station would cost about £9,000 or £10,000 and in running it the annual overheads would be roughly £2,000. The travelling creamery which catered for these two stops also catered for two further stops and in the case of suppliers in these two latter areas the same arrangement has been made without any difficulty. I have asked the Dairy Disposal Company to go into this matter fully. They have supplied me with particulars and with their reasons for the decision and the arrangement which they propose. As I said, I shall not interfere with that. I shall go further and say that I approve of the wisdom of the decision based on the facts as they are made known to me.
But the Minister did not reply to my question. If the farmers of the area are dissatisfied with the arrangement after a trial period will he then give a permit for a co-operative creamery?
The Deputy may take it from me that if I were to accept the vote of the farmers in that area they would vote in favour of a separating station in every yard in the area.