I move:—
Go ndeontar suim Bhreise ná raghaidh thar £10 chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1938, chun caiteachais i dtaobh Foirgintí Puiblí; chun coinneáil-suas Páirceanna agus Oibreacha Puiblí áirithe; chun déanamh agus coinneáil-suas Oibreacha Dréineála; agus chun Ildeontaisí-i-gCabhair.
That a Supplementary sum not exceeding £10 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1938, for expenditure in respect of Public Buildings; for the Maintenance of certain Parks and Public Works; for the Execution and Maintenance of Drainage Works; and for sundry Grants-in-Aid.
The Supplementary Estimate for £10 now before the Dáil arises out of a bequest made in a will dated 20th April, 1932, by Mrs. Margaret Pearse, who bequeathed St. Enda's, Rathfarnham, to the State
"to be kept as a memorial for her two sons, Patrick and William, the house and grounds to be cared for properly and kept in good order, and not to be used for a school or university of any sort whatever but purely as a memorial."
This bequest was subject to a life interest in the property by her daughter, Miss Margaret Pearse. It is felt that there would be a general public desire that the State should accept this bequest on behalf of the nation, when in the course of time a decision would have to be taken in regard to that. In the meantime, however, the property of St. Enda's is not in good repair. A suitable sum of money must be spent to enable repairs to be carried out to the buildings, to preserve them from further deterioration until the time when the State comes into the full possession of the property. The property is a very valuable one. The buildings cover three quarters of an acre, and they are situated in a compact demesne of over 40 acres in extent. Unfortunately, also, the net value of the estate of the late Mrs. Margaret Pearse amounted only to £2,630, and if the other dispositions in her will were to be given effect to it would have been necessary either to dispose of St. Enda's, or part of the Cullenswood property, or else to let the property at Terenure at present occupied by Miss Mary Bridget Pearse, or to sell the furniture at St. Enda's, a large part of which is of historic interest. In order to prevent the dispersal of this property, the executrix of the will, has out of her own pocket, made provision to discharge a considerable part of the debts of the estate. The amount which would properly fall due to her in order to recoup her for that expenditure has not yet been definitely settled, but it is not anticipated to exceed the sum of £600 which is provided for the purpose of that recoupment under sub-head M of the Estimate.