§ MR. FERENS (Hull, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will cause inquiry to be made by the Board of Agriculture for Ireland, whether it is possible profitably to utilise partially diseased potatoes for the manufacture of crude starch from which could be produced spirit for motor use.
MR. BRYCEThe Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction have made inquiries into the question of the manufacture of alcohol from potatoes for motor use, the result of which did not tend to show that it would be possible to start a profitable industry of the kind in Ireland. The Department do not anticipate that there would be an annual supply of diseased tubers sufficient to warrant the expenditure of the large amount of capital necessary for the erection and equipment of the buildings which would be required for the manufacture of alcohol from potatoes.