What I want to secure by the recommendation I am moving is that there should be full publication. This is only a recommendation. I think the House might safely accept it. The matter will have to be further discussed in the Dáil, and, if it is accepted there, the draftsman can make the necessary changes.
Public Business. - Finance (Customs Duties) (No. 3) Bill, 1932—Committee (Resumed).
Before any member of the House debates this question I would suggest that it might be better that the House should not proceed to a vote on the recommendation and that perhaps Senator Sir John Keane might withdraw it. My reason is this, that the Minister seemed to give a sympathetic reception to the suggestion that there should be publicity for these licences. I think he almost stated that he would consider if it could be done. At any rate, he suggested what led me to believe that he had a charitable view regarding the publication of licences. This is a question which is bound to come before the House again, because we are not done with tariffs and there will be plenty of opportunities later to discuss the publication of licences. I do not think it would be a wise thing to come to any decision on this Bill without having a more informative discussion than we had to-day. I think the House should not allow it to go to a vote and that perhaps the Senator will withdraw his proposal.
My mind runs very much on lines parallel with that of Senator Brown. I think the principle that Senator Sir John Keane seeks to have embodied in this Bill is one that should be generally welcomed in respect of the issue of licences regarding importation and exemption from tariffs. That is the principle the Senator wants to have embodied in all such legislation, and to me it does not seem that this particular Bill is one where the greatest danger would arise. Further, there is no provision in Section 1 for the issue of general licences. There is provision for the issue of licences to a person and therefore there would have to be some consideration of drafting, even if it was thought desirable to put it into this Bill. It is inevitable that there will be Bills coming to this House which it will be within the competence of the House to amend. That would be a better occasion for introducing this principle into this kind of fiscal legislation. It is desirable that this matter should be fully discussed, and that the principle of the publication of the conditions under which licences are granted should be pressed, at least, to the closest inquiry, with a view to having that principle embodied in future legislation. I do not think this particular Bill is one which calls emphatically for this principle as against other Bills. As the matter is a little urgent, and probably would not get the amount of consideration that it should have, I would support the plea of Senator Brown to have the matter deferred to a later Bill which will come before us.
I have already expressed the view that it would be more satisfactory if the Government dealt with this matter, as I think they would have power to do, without legislation. This House could deal with it in two ways, either by passing a resolution and sending it to the other House, or by introducing a short Bill which would provide for licences of all kinds. I do not like to single out this particular form of licence for a Bill. It should be dealt with in another way.
When speaking on the suggestion made by Senator Sir John Keane I think I indicated that I was sympathetic to the idea, but that I had not consulted the Ministers responsible, the Minister for Industry and Commerce and the Minister for Finance. I think the suggestion made by Senator Brown is a good one. This recommendation might delay the Bill and might cause trouble in getting it through in time. As Senator Johnson explained, it is not so urgent to this Bill as it might be to many others. Personally, I am in favour of the widest possible publicity, because it is very desirable from the public point of view and the Executive point of view that there should be the widest publicity. I am not clear about the distinction between special licences and general licences that the Senator referred to. I would have to think about that. The only general licence that I know of involved in the operations of the Bill would be that given to Messrs. Jacob. They got an open order, so to speak, for so many thousands of bags of a very particular type of flour which is allowed in until that quota is exhausted, and each time it is renewed for an equivalent amount in order that they can carry on. I think the suggestion made by Senator Brown, which was supported by other Senators, a very desirable one. In the meantime I will consult with the Ministers concerned and bring the matter to the attention of the Executive in the hope that some such line of policy can be adopted.
I agree with the general feeling expressed, and I do not think it is desirable to raise this question of principle now, as it has limited application here. I am quite satisfied with the assurance that the matter will be considered by the Government, and that there will be an opportunity of raising it on a more comprehensive Bill—the Bill embodying the Customs Resolutions recently passed by the Dáil. I am quite satisfied to withdraw the recommendation.
Recommendation, by leave, withdrawn.
Sections 2, 3 and the Title agreed to. Bill ordered to be reported.