asked the Minister for Lands and Fisheries if he will state why the application of Anthony Quinn, of Glenahilt, Burtonport, County Donegal, for a grant under the Gaeltacht Housing Scheme has not been granted.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Gaeltacht Housing Application.
The application in this case is dated 1st August last and many applications of prior date are entitled to preference. The case will have the earliest possible attention.
Arising out of the Parliamentary Secretary's reply, I should like to ask him is he aware that there are thousands of applications in his Department awaiting consideration and, in view of that, would he inform the House whether it is his intention to provide adequate staff from other parts of his Department to deal with this question, or was it at the expense of this section of his Department that the Gaeltacht Vote has been reduced in the current Estimate?
As the Deputy knows, the question of additional staff is a matter for the Minister for Finance.
Arising out of that reply, I should like to ask him if he has any intention of making an early provision for applicants for houses in the Gaeltacht or are the pretensions of the Government in respect of this matter purely fraudulent as so many others of their pretensions are?