§ SIR THOMAS ESMONDE (Kerry, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will have an inquiry made into the withdrawal by the Waterford and Limerick and Western Railway Company of the facilities hitherto existing for the transfer of fish from Fenit Pier to the English market; if he is aware that, owing to the withdrawal of these facilities, the important fishing industry at Fenit, in which some 1,000 hands are employed, is seriously imperilled; and, inasmuch as the matter is one of urgency, as the fishing season is now open, if he will have this inquiry made forthwith?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADEI have communicated with the Railway Company with reference to the honourable Member's Question. The Traffic Manager informs me that there must be some mistake in directing the complaint against the railway, as everything that could have been done has been done to work the fish traffic from Fenit to the English markets with dispatch. Engines and wagons, it is stated, have been in readiness at Fenit to run special trains with the fish when required ever since the season commenced. I shall be happy to show the honourable Member the communication I have received from the Company. It also refers to a loss to the fishing industry, which I gather arose from the want of ice and boxes for packing, and not from any fault of the Company.