With your permission, Sir, I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 7 together.
The bulk of the trade of Shannon Free Airport Industrial Estate consists of goods entering or leaving the estate direct by air from or to other countries without passing through any other part of the State. Normal customs documentation, from which our trade statistics are compiled, is not available for this activity as the goods in question do not pass through the general customs area of the State at any point of their movement between the estate and the country of origin or destination.
Some information on this direct trading by air is, however, obtained periodically by the Central Statistics Office by means of a voluntary inquiry designed to obtain from the individual manufacturing companies operating in the estate, the total value of their imports and exports by air; warehousing and other service agencies are, of course, excluded from the inquiry as these concerns are not basically involved in the import or export of goods on their own behalf. Firms are asked to give approximate value figures where exact totals are not readily available — hence the term "estimate" as used in my reply of 29th May last. Returns from this inquiry covering all firms first became available for the year 1964.
As indicated in the 1966-1967 annual report of the Shannon Free Airport Development Company the figures quoted there for the external trading of the estate were supplied by the Central Statistics Office. The figures shown were those available at the time of the preparation of the report. Since then, certain rather substantial amendments have been found necessary in the original estimates and these have been incorporated in the figures used in my reply af 29th May. For convenience the figures in the statement were given to the nearest hundred thousand pounds while, in the Shannon Free Airport Development Company report, they were given to the nearest thousand pounds.
It is understood that manufacturing activity commenced in the Industrial Estate in 1959 and that the first imports and exports from the estate were made in that year. Particulars of trade for the years prior to 1964, comparable to those referred to above, are not, however, available.
While I have no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the Córas Tráchtála estimate of £5 million for exports from Shannon Free Airport Industrial Estate in 1963, I did not consider it proper to include it in my earlier reply as the figure is from a different source and may not be comparable in coverage with the figures for later years.
With your permission, Sir, I propose to circulate in the Official Report a statement showing for each year 1964-1967 the values of imports to Shannon Free Airport Industrial Estate (a) by air directly from other countries—as derived from the special inquiry referred to and (b) by surface transport—as derived from official transhipment bills. The information available does not permit a distinction to be made between raw materials, semi-processed goods and components for assembly.
Following is the statement:
IMPORTS to Shannon Free Airport Industrial Estate, 1964-1967.
|
1964
|
1965
|
1966
|
1967
|
|
£000
|
Directly by air
|
8,220
|
12,357
|
19,646
|
17,097
|
By surface transport
|
3,248
|
3,640
|
4,512
|
5,425
|
Total
|
11,468
|
15,997
|
24,158
|
22,522
|