Mr Alan McKibbin: I notice that the Gracious Speech mentions the Commonwealth, the United States of America, South-East Asia, Indo-China, Geneva, Austria, Western Germany, Brussels, the German Federal Republic and the Soviet Union, but not Northern Ireland. I suppose that this is because we are always in the heart of Her Gracious Majesty, and with this we should be content. Speaking on behalf of the...
Mr Alan McKibbin: Will the right hon. Gentleman say, if a further conference is ever necessary in addition to the frequent conferences which take place between Ministers of both Governments and Ulster Members, that it would be most efficiently directed if it dealt with the high cost of transport, which is the principal reason for the unemployment?
Mr Alan McKibbin: asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider taking steps to permit all ex-Service men of the 1914–18 war to draw their post-war credits on attaining the age of 60 years.
Mr Alan McKibbin: Is my right hon. Friend aware that my Question does not relate only to the war disabled in receipt of pensions, as the other Question did, but also to men who are prematurely aged, as most men are who served in the appalling conditions of the 1914–18 war? If there is difficulty in making this concession, will he consider the issue of credits in the form of savings certificates, or in any...
Mr Alan McKibbin: I should like to express on behalf of the pensioners of Northern Ireland their satisfaction that the financial and economic position of the country permits long overdue increases in the rates of pension and I hope that, when these increases are given, they will be as generous as possible.
Mr Alan McKibbin: I have every sympathy with old-age pensioners and have always maintained that we owe a debt of honour to the war disabled, who should have priority. This Government deserve credit for the fact that they are to give a second prize to the war disabled, and I hope they will not spoil it by postponing that rise until after Christmas because, rightly or wrongly, many of the war disabled believed...
Mr Alan McKibbin: Will the Minister bear in mind the particular case of Messrs. Short Bros., which I raised with his predecessor on several occasions? Is he aware that unemployment in Northern Ireland has been running at too high a rate over the last three years, although it is now on the downward level, and is he also aware that it is only recently that hon. Members on the other side of the House have taken...
Mr Alan McKibbin: I support the right hon. Member for Vauxhall (Mr. G. R. Strauss) in what he said about blinking trafficators. He called them twinkling trafficators. That may be a more polite term, but it is not so expressive. I think that they are a blinking nuisance. I raised this matter last week in a supplementary question, and my right hon. Friend said that he would consider the matter. I can only hope...
Mr Alan McKibbin: I have been driving motor cars for many years, and I have used both types of headlights. I am sure that 90 per cent. of drivers are convinced that the old system was much better and safer than the new one, which manufacturers are foisting upon us because it is cheaper. The old type of lamp had dipping reflectors; with the new type it is the filament which goes out. It is absolutely wrong that...
Mr Alan McKibbin: The White Paper refers to railway reorganisation, but I can see no reference,to the shipping part of British Railways. The Heysham steamers which run on the Belfast and the Larne-Stranraer routes are part of British Railways, and are most important parts to Northern Ireland. British Railways have recently taken over the Larne-Preston Ferry. Very large quantities of raw materials from Great...
Mr Alan McKibbin: Is my right hon. Friend aware that, in addition to the ordinary kind of trafficators, which do not always operate satisfactorily, we now have blinking trafficators as well, and that these, together with double-dipping headlights which do not indicate to an approaching driver whether they are dipped or not, are just making confusion worse confounded? Will he consider having a standard system...
Mr Alan McKibbin: Is my right hon. Friend; aware that at the annual meeting of the Inniskillings Association it was stated that, as the payment of war disability pensions had been delayed so long, it was hoped that when the restoration of their value was finally granted the benefits would be back-dated at least two years?
Mr Alan McKibbin: While welcoming the new-found interest of hon. Members opposite in the question of unemployment in Northern Ireland, may I ask the Minister whether he will continue to keep in touch with hon. Members on this side of the House, and with the Government of Northern Ireland who are making every effort with regard to this serious problem with very considerable success?
Mr Alan McKibbin: The reason why the duty is the same is because the people would want to smuggle Irish whisky out if there was a difference, and they would not want to smuggle beer.
Mr Alan McKibbin: In view of the very serious effect on unemployment in Northern Ireland owing to the suspension of work on the Comet, is my right hon. Friend aware that nowhere would an early statement be more welcome than in Belfast, particularly in East Belfast?
Mr Alan McKibbin: Is the Minister aware that on 3rd May he gave an assurance that so far as Short Bros. and Harland, Ltd., of Belfast are concerned he was trying to find alternative contracts to the Comet contracts? Is he now in a position to make any further statement about this?
Mr Alan McKibbin: asked the Minister of Supply what plans he has for the placing of orders with Messrs. Short Brothers & Harland, Limited, in Belfast, in order to relieve the unemployment likely as a result of the suspension of work on the Comet II.
Mr Alan McKibbin: While thanking my right hon. Friend for the prompt attention which his Department has given to this matter, may I ask him to bear in mind the bringing forward of existing contracts not only for Canberra aircraft but also for Sunderland flying boats, the tools for which are already in Short Brothers' works in East Belfast?
Mr Alan McKibbin: asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that owners of commercial vehicles in the Irish Republic can bring such vehicles across the border into Ulster on payment of an annual fee of 2s. 6d., whereas owners in Ulster have to pay an import duty of one-third the value of the vehicle even if only one journey is made; and whether he will take action to remove this anomaly...
Mr Alan McKibbin: Is my right hon. Friend aware that the duty on Ulster vehicles going into the Republic may amount to £1,000 or even more and that it is not recoverable? Is he aware also that the Board of Trade has been pressing the Dublin authorities, by correspondence, to give equitable treatment to Ulster for many years? Does he not consider that it is about time that he addressed them in the only way...
