I move:—
Go ndeontar Suim Breise, ná raghaidh thar £5,000, chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1927, chun íocaíochtanna fé Acht na mBóthar Iarainn, 1924, fén Tramways and Public Companies (Ireland) Act, 1883, etc., agus chun crícheanna eile a bhaineann le hIompar in Eirinn.
That a Supplementary Sum, not exceeding £5,000, be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1927, for payments under the Railways Act, 1924, the Tramways and Public Companies (Ireland) Act, 1883, etc., and for other purposes connected with Irish Transport.
The Burtonport, Carndonagh and Letterkenny extensions of the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway were constructed with the aid of State funds. They are worked by the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company under a statutory agreement which provides that the working Company shall be allowed out of the receipts the actual cost of working up to a maximum sum calculated at the rate of £3 10s. per mile per week, the receipts above the cost of working and interest on Guaranteed Stock which amounts to £400 per annum to be divided evenly between the working Company and the Treasury, now the Department of Finance, or with the consent of the Department applied to improvements on the line. The cost of working has for some considerable time been far in excess of the figure of £3 10s. per mile per week allowed. The deficiencies for the years 1923, 1924 and 1925 were for 1923, £16,133; for 1924, £9,957; and for 1925 £11,211. These deficiencies were met by a payment out of the Compensation Fund of the British Government and by an advance of £1,510 from the Saorstát Government in 1923-4 in respect of the loss in 1923. The Saorstát Government made an advance of £5,430 in 1924-25 in respect of the loss in 1924. Last year the Government of the Saorstát and the Government of Northern Ireland made advances of £7,000 each in respect of the loss in 1925.
The Company's accounts have recently been examined by officers of the Transport and Marine Section of the Department of Industry and Commerce who recommended the continuance of the allowance. It is proposed, as seen on the face of the Estimate, that a grant of £5,000 should be made this year. The Government of Northern Ireland has also agreed to make a grant of £5,000. This grant must really be regarded as a temporary expedient for carrying on the lines. Arrangements for the future working of them are under consideration, but any change that would be involved would necessitate legislation. The lines can only keep working by providing the money which will enable the Company to carry on.