SHORTAGES IN EIRE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 16, 14 April 1947, Page 2

SHORTAGES IN EIRE

PEAT SUPPLIES CUT BY QUARTER BEST RESERVED FOR POOR PEOPLE Most people in Eire are experiencing more shortages this winter than at any time during the war years. One of the main causes of discomfort is damage to grain and peat fuel as a result of an abnormal rainfall and aded to this is a shortage of textiles, especially cotton and woollen goods and of boots and shoes, particularly in children's sizes.

Severe measures have been taken by the Government to prevent goods in short supply being taken out of the country. Dublin and other urban counties have been cut by one quarter, which means that each household, instead of getting the rating of one ton of peat a month, which has been in force for several years, this year gets only 1500 pounds. Moreover the peat is wet and difficult to use. There is no coal. -

Hardship among the poor has been somewhat alleviated by a governmental ruling that the best peat must be reserved for people who can purchase only in small lots. Another major shortage is that if bread. The wet autumn destroyed about 20 per cent, of the wheat crop and about 40 per cent, of the remainder sprouted before it reached the stodes, owing to excessive moisture. Such grain, has a high oil content which makes it unsuitable for milling. The quantities of grain reaching Eire from the United States and Canada are the lowest in 100 years.