The intention is to accept all the amendments made in the Seanad.
1. Section 8, sub-section (1). After the word "thereof" in line 56 the words "to the satisfaction of the local authority" inserted.
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 1931—From the Seanad (In Committee).
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment No. 1.
This amendment is inserted for the sake of precision and the section will now read "shall demolish that building and clear and level the site thereof to the satisfaction of the local authority".
Question put, and agreed to.
2. Section 8, sub-section (1). After the word "demolished" in line 1 the words "and the site thereof so cleared and levelled" inserted.
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment 2 which is also inserted for the sake of precision.
Question put, and agreed to.
3. Section 10, sub-section (1). All after the word "and" in line 57 deleted down to and including the word "operations" in line 59.
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment 3.
The House may remember that on the Committee Stage here we amended the Bill in Part I of the Third Schedule with the result that the compensation to be paid in respect of a clearance area was the value of the site cleared less the cost of demolition. The result was that Section 2 of Part I went out. The original idea was that the compensation would be the value of the site without any question of costs of demolition. In these circumstances it was proposed that when any part of the site was to be used for rehousing of the working classes, there would be, in respect of that portion of the site a deduction of the amount of compensation to be paid and that that amount would be spread over the whole area. The clearance order therefore had to contain definite particulars as to the amount of land that it was proposed would be devoted to rehousing. Then under Section 10 we make provision for compliance with that part of the clearance order which implies that that specific part of the land was going to be used for rehousing. Amendments 3 and 4 together with amendment 12 are consequential upon the position we take with regard to the compensation to be paid for the clearance area.
Amendment No. 3 takes out the question of compliance with part of the clearance order that specifies that a certain area shall be used for rehousing. There shall be no such provision in the clearance order and amendment 4 makes provision that the land that is acquired may be used for Part III of the Housing Act.
Amendment 12 makes the necessary provision for taking out that part of the Schedule with regard to the clearance order which makes provision for setting aside a certain amount of the land in the order for rehousing.
Question put, and agreed to.
4. Section 10, sub-section (1). After the word "may" in line 66 the following words inserted: "use the land for the purposes of Part III of the Act of 1890 as amended by any subsequent enactment including this Act or may".
I move: "That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment 4."
Question put, and agreed to.
5. Section 20, sub-section (5). The words "any owner or occupier of the dwelling-house" deleted in line 23 and the words "the person having control of the house or the occupier thereof" substituted therefor.
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in the amendment which is intended to make a necessary correction. The person involved in sub-section (3) of Section 20 is the person having control of the house. In sub-section (5), as the Bill at present stands, we have the owner or occupier. It is intended that the person having control of the house should be the person mentioned in sub-section (5).
Question put, and agreed to.
The following amendments were also agreed to.
6. Section 26, sub-section (1). After the word "thereof" in line 27 the words "to the satisfaction of the local authority" inserted.
7. Section 26, sub-section (1). After the word "thereof" in line 28 the word "so" inserted.
Agreed.
8. Section 31, sub-section (1). After the word "habitation" in line 52 the following words inserted: "but nothing in this section contained shall affect the liability of the tenant or occupier of any such house for any wilful act or default of such tenant or occupier whereby such house is rendered not reasonably fit for human habitation."
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment 8. It is for the purpose of allaying fears that have been expressed that the owner of property such as is dealt with in Section 31, that is, the person responsible for keeping the house in a habitable condition, would have no redress against the tenant who deliberately was guilty of acts rendering the house uninhabitable.
Question put, and agreed to.
9. Section 33, sub-section (2). The sub-section deleted and the following new sub-section substituted therefor:—
"(2) Any expenses incurred by a local authority under this section in obtaining possession of any building or of any part of a building may be recovered by them summarily before a court of summary jurisdiction from the owner of the building or, if there is more than one owner, from the owners thereof and the provisions of sub-sections (2), (4) and (5) of Section 8 of this Act shall apply in relation to any such expenses in like manner as those provisions apply in relation to expenses incurred by a local authority under that section."
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment 9. The definition clause explains the word "owner" and as there may be a number of owners it is necessary to spread responsibility under this section between the various owners as it is spread in Section 8. The amendment is to bring the position with regard to the owner or owners under the section into the same position as owners under Section 8.
Question put, and agreed to.
10. Section 48. The section deleted and the following new section substituted therefor:—
"48.—Unless the Minister shall in any particular case otherwise direct or agree, the costs payable by a local authority in respect of the acquisition of land for the purposes of the Housing of the Working Classes Acts shall be regulated by the General Order dated the 16th day of April, 1884, as amended by the General Order dated the 17th day of May, 1920, made in pursuance of the Solicitors Remuneration Act, 1881, and the provisions of the said first-mentioned General Order as amended as aforesaid shall, with the exception of Clause 6 and Rule 11 in Part I of Schedule I of the said Order, apply accordingly."
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment 10. It will be remembered that I stated that Section 48 was put into the Bill on the representation of the Dublin Corporation which had reason to complain of the amount of fees payable in respect of legal costs in proving title. The legal costs in connection with the proving of title were previously paid on an itemised scale existing from prior to 1881, and was a different scale from that payable in ordinary cases where a public body was not involved. Section 48 was put in to bring the position in regard to local authorities in the payment of costs for those titles into the same position as ordinary persons. It has been pointed out by the Irish Land Owners' Association that in fact Section 48 as it now stands might inflict serious hardship upon an owner getting very little compensation which might be 10/- or £1, and might mean that very elaborate proof of title would be required and the owner's cost might be very great. Under Section 48 as it stands he would be only entitled to payment in respect of costs as a percentage on the amount of compensation awarded. This amendment provides that where hardship is likely to be caused in such a case, on appeal to the Minister the matter may be reviewed and either costs may be allowed on the scale at present existing or some figure may be agreed upon as a reasonable amount to pay for costs in the particular case. In this connection it was pointed out that under Section 50 the urban authorities are given power that exist with the rural authorities for accepting simpler proofs of title in certain cases, where their purpose would be sufficiently served by such title.
Question put, and agreed to.
11. Section 63, sub-section (3). Lines 3-6 inclusive of paragraph (d) deleted and the following substituted therefor:—
"(4) The erection of the house shall have been begun on or after the 1st day of October, 1931, and shall have been completed after the 29th day of February, 1932, but before the expiration of this section."
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment 11. This deals with sub-section (3), Section 63, and the effect is that houses in respect of which grants are not payable, not having been completed before the end of February, 1932, may, if begun on or after the 1st day of October, 1931, come in under the new scale of grants. It is felt that it would be reasonable that a house begun on 1st October should come in under the new scale if not completed before the end of February next.
That would be subject to the local authorities giving an equivalent grant?
Yes.
Question put, and agreed to.
12. Second Schedule. Part I. Paragraph (3). Sub-paragraph (b) deleted.
I move: That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment 12. I have already dealt with this amendment when speaking on amendments Nos. 3 and 4.
Question put, and agreed to.
Reported: That the Committee has agreed to all the Seanad amendments.
Would you allow me, a Chinn Comhairle, to ask the Minister one question and that is in regard to the amendment to Section 10? I am sorry I was not here when he spoke on the matter and I should be glad if he would tell me exactly what the effect of leaving out the words in that amendment 3 is?
I explained when dealing with this part of the Bill in Committee we changed Schedule 3 so that the compensation that would be paid in respect to a clearance area would be not as originally intended, the site value cleared, but the site cleared less the cost of demolition. Our original proposal was site value cleared alone. It contained, also, a provision that if any part of the site was going to be used for housing for the working classes there would be a further reduction in respect of that area in the compensation. The rehousing factor would be introduced. Therefore, if in any clearance area some part, or the whole of it, was to be used for housing, the amount of compensation to be paid would be site value cleared, less the amount the assessor assessed as reasonable reduction because of the fact that it was going to be used for the housing of the working classes. The clearance order had to say explicitly that a certain part of the land was going to be used for rehousing and the Bill had to make provision to see that the order was fully carried out.
When the compensation is being paid for the site cleared less demolition, there is no necessity in fixing compensation to take into consideration whether it is going to be used for rehousing or not. The third amendment is to take out the necessity for saying that rehousing provided for in the clearance order will be carried out, because there will be no such provision in the clearance order. Amendment No. 4 is to include in the purpose for which a clearance area acquired by a local authority may be used the purposes of housing for the working classes.
Question—"That the Dáil agree with the Committee in its report"— put and agreed to.