I move:—
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £150,000 chun íoctha an mhuirir a thiocfidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch 31adh Márta, 1928, chun síntiúisí chun fóirithint ar dhíomhaointeas agus ar ghátar.
That a sum not exceeding £150,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1928, for contributions towards the relief of unemployment and distress.
It is a fact that not as many applications have been received this year from local authorities for grants for the relief of distress as we have had in recent years. That, I think, may be attributed in part to the fact that there was no money available for such grants in the Estimates. However, certain applications have been coming in, and I am sure that we will have a considerable number of further schemes submitted to us within a very short time. In most years since the setting up of the Saorstát sums have been allocated for such grants as are now proposed. In the year 1922-23 the sum actually expended was £339,000 odd; in 1923-4 there was none; in 1924-5 there was £380,000 odd; 1925-6, £336,000 odd, and last year there was £30,000 odd. In each of these years greater sums were voted, but the figures that I have given represent the amounts actually expended. In previous years, a certain part of the relief grant was expended on road work. It is not intended on this occasion to expend money on road work, except in a district where no other useful work can be found, and where there is a great deal of unemployment, but as far as possible an attempt will be made to spend the money on other schemes, such as the preparation of sites on which building might afterwards take place, and water or sewerage schemes.
There is just one type of road on which money could be expended, and that is the bog road. In previous years—for instance, 1924-5 and 1925-6 —a good deal of money was very usefully expended in the making of these bog roads, and a great deal of relief was given in districts where there was considerable distress and a very great need of employment. But apart from that particular type of road, the endeavour will be to do other works, because, as has already been explained, a substantial sum of money is available from the Road Fund, and so far as road work is concerned, the endeavour will be to expedite the expending of the money available in that way.
The proposals of local authorities will be considered by the Department of Local Government and recommendations will be made to the Department of Finance. Other proposals may come through the Land Commission which would be responsible for such things as bog roads, or from the Department of Fisheries which might undertake small works to assist navigation—approaches to piers, work on piers or any small marine work that could be carried out. It has happened on several occasions that when an attempt was made to expend the whole sum of money available in the winter season, from say the beginning of December to the end of March, sometimes schemes have had to be undertaken which involved a further vote in the next financial year. It is difficult to expend the exact sum that may be laid down, and have it expeditiously expended. We will try as far as possible to have this sum expended in the financial year, and on the other hand not to undertake work which would either have to be left unfinished or which would involve the provision of substantial sums in the coming year. We do not want to commit ourselves to that. This year, as in previous years, we will endeavour to have the local authorities supply part of the money for any works carried out. Our endeavour always has been to have the money made available by way of a grant supplemented out of the funds of the local authorities. We have sometimes said to local authorities, "You are contemplating a proposed drainage scheme and we will give you 25 per cent. of that." As far as we could we have generally tried to decline to sanction works carried out solely out of the grant. We have tried to get the local authorities to put some of their own moneys into them so that the amount of the grant made available might be stretched.
It is, of course, impossible to provide by means of this grant for every sort of unemployment. There are large numbers of people unemployed who cannot be reached by any form of public works. They are not suitable themselves for taking part in public works. On the other hand the experience is that where money can be put into circulation in a district by means of public works, even those who cannot be employed and who do not benefit directly, do get opportunities themselves of some employment arising out of the expenditure of money and in that way distress, generally speaking, is relieved.