asked the Minister for Local Government whether he is aware that the Longford Co. Council struck a rate for the year 1922-23, for road expenditure, to the amount of £25,243; that the rate for the current year will amount to only £18,000, a decrease of £7,243; that this decrease will result in corresponding unemployment among road-workers; further, to ask what is the amount of the motor tax collected last year for Longford, and also what amount in grants is due to the Council by the Government, and to ask when these sums are likely to be handed over to enable the Council to meet the unemployment mentioned above.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. [ORAL ANSWERS.] - LONGFORD ROAD WORKERS.
replied: The position is as stated. The Longford County Council reduced the Acting County Surveyor's road estimate for the current year from £29,000 to £18,000. The action of the County Council will necessarily result in a corresponding reduction of employment on roads in the county. The sums issued to the County Council by the Government in the period from 1st April, 1922, to date amount to £36,732 18s. 1d., which includes £21,262 11s. 6d. in respect of grants withheld by the British Government, £3,666 13s. 4d. in respect of schemes for the relief of unemployment, and £4,905 10s., being the second instalment of the Agricultural Grant for the financial year ended 31st March, 1923, which was issued last week. The total amount issued does not, however, include the Estate Duty Grant for 1921-22 and one half of the Agricultural Grant for the same year, as these moneys were retained in the Guarantee Fund in connection with charges under the Land Acts. The British Government have not yet found themselves in a position to release any of the latter amounts out of the Guarantee Fund. There was practically no collection of motor taxation last year in County Longford, a sum of £41 only having been collected over the entire county, and as the County Council failed to carry out its statutory duty in the matter it cannot reasonably expect to receive grants out of moneys collected elsewhere.