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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 11 Dec 1963

Vol. 206 No. 8

Committee on Finance. - Wexford Gas Order, 1963—Motion of Approval.

I move:

That the Wexford Gas Order, 1963, proposed to be made by the Minister for Transport and Power and laid in draft before Dáil Éireann on the 20th day of November, 1963, under Subsection 4 of Section 10 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, be approved.

Gas undertakings generally operate under Special Acts which authorise them to manufacture and distribute gas in certain specified areas. Modifications in these Special Acts required by the undertakings from time to time are made under Section 10 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920 which enables me to make by Order the required modifications. Before an Order of this kind is made it has to be laid in draft before both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Houses of the Oireachtas may, by resolution, approve the draft Order in the form submitted or may approve it with modifications or additions. When such approval is given I may make the Order in the form in which it has been approved.

The Wexford Gas Consumers Co., Ltd., have applied to me for a Special Order. The object of the proposed Order is to enable the company to extend the present limit on their borrowing powers from £20,000 to £60,000 to facilitate the purchase of up-to-date gas manufacturing plant, to extend the limits within which the company can supply town gas and to allow the company to deal in bottled gas.

Notice of the proposed Order was published in Iris Oifigiúil and in a local newspaper. Copies of the draft Order were sent to the Wexford Corporation and to the Wexford County Council and to other public bodies who might be concerned. No objections to the proposed Order were received.

The powers requested by the company are no more than are necessary in order to make improvements in their gas manufacturing and distributing processes which will be required if the gas undertaking is to survive against growing competition from suppliers of other fuels. I am satisfied as to the need for the Order and that there is nothing in it repugnant to the public interest. I, therefore, recommend the Order for the approval of the House.

We offer no objection to this Order and I avail of the occasion to comment on the fact that this Order is laid before the House under a relatively old procedure which requires positive endorsement by the House. It does not seem to impose any unreasonable burden on anybody and it has the advantage that the Order is made the subject of a short explanatory statement by the Minister which is on record for anybody who wishes hereafter to inform himself.

The more modern procedure of placing these Orders on the Table of Dáil Éireann so that unless they are raised in this House, they become operative is a very much less desirable procedure because many of those Orders never receive any adequate exposition at all. I do not know whether I should commend the Minister or the old legislation which requires him to adopt this procedure but I suggest to the House that this affirmative procedure is a very much better one than that only too frequently used now, putting the Order on the Table and, unless it is raised by way of motion within 21 days, making it operative automatically. We have no objection to this Order and so far as we are concerned, it may pass without further ado.

Question put and agreed to.
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