§ 30. Mr. DONOVANasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he has received 735 representations from the Irish egg dealers in London asking him to inquire into the condition of egg transport from Ireland; whether hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of eggs are smashed every year in transit from Ireland to London, the damage being attributable to bad packing, inefficient handling, and pilfering; whether in a recent consignment of 3,500 eggs from Ireland only 1,900 arrived intact; and as the export of eggs from Ireland is a valuable and important industry, what action he is prepared to take with the view of having the present defective methods of transport and handling of Irish eggs immediately remedied?
§ Mr. RUSSELLA communication has been received by the Department from the provision trade section of the London Chamber of Commerce in regard to claims in respect of damage to consignments of Irish eggs. The complaints received by the Department go to show that considerable damage to consignments of Irish eggs has taken place. The Department have no knowledge as to the facts in regard to the particular consignment referred to in the question. The whole question as to the packing and conveyance of Irish eggs is engaging the special attention of the Department, who, by means of conferences with representatives of the railway companies and egg shippers, by the dissemination of information amongst packers, producers, traders, etc., and by inspections carried out at railway stations and ports, are taking steps to effect improvement.