Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £892,114 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1939, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí Oifig an Aire Riaghaltais Aiteamhail agus Sláinte Poiblidhe maraon le Deontaisí agus Costaisí eile a bhaineann le Tógáil Tithe, Deontaisí d'Udaráis Aitiúla, Ildeontaisí Ilghnéitheacha agus Ildeontaisí i gCabhair, agus muirearacha áirithe mar gheall ar Ospidéil.
That a sum not exceeding £892,114 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1939, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, including Grants and other Expenses in connection with Housing, Grants to Local Authorities, Sundry Miscellaneous Grants and Grants-in-Aid, and certain charges connected with Hospitals.
Sa mheastúchán so táthar ag beartú go gcaithfear £1,337,914 ar fad. Meastar go geaithfear £836,307 i leith tighthe, agus £328,050 i leith sheirbhísí na sláinte puiblí, nó fá tuairm £80,000 níos mó 'ná mar a caitheadh anuraidh. Ní dóigh liom gur gádh dom cur síos ar thábhacht an dá chúram so atá orm agus a Riachtanaí is atá sé go gcuirfí an bhreis airgid seo ar fagháil.
Ó labhair mé ar an Bhóta so anuraidh, tá feabhas suaithne tagaithe ar chúrsaí sláinte an phobhail de thairbhe na h-oibre atá ar siubhal againn agus go h-airithe de thairbhe na scéimeanna uisce agus camraighe a cuireadh síos. Tháinic laigheadú ar réim na ngalar dtógálach ón deagh-obair céadna, óir ba lughaide 303 anuraidh an mhéid a cailleadh na h-aicideacha siúd sa bhliain roimhe sin.
Táthar ag breathnú feasta ar leas an aosa óig maidir le sláinte. Cé nach bhfuil aon feabhas ag teacht ar staitistíocht báis na leanbh nuabheirthe, tá sár-obair ghá dhéanamh ar son sabhála agus oileamhna na naoidheanán fé scimeanna oifigiúla maithreachais agus fé cumainn neamhspleadhacha um sláinte na n-óg. Comh maith le na scrúdúcháin scoile a déantar maidir le súlaí, fiacla agus iol-shláinte na n-ógánach tá béilí bidh i n-aisce ar fagháil dóibh agus tá scéim an tsaor-bhainne ann freisin, taca foghanta i gcoinnibh na h-easláinte. Sé mo thuairim go dtabharfaidh an tAcht Bainne agus Déirithe atá anois fá réim céim fada ar aghaidh sinn.
Maidir le cheist na h-éitinne, tá scéimeanna leighis fá réim i ngach conndae agus i ngach cathair acht ní follus go bhfuil aon laigheadú ag teacht ar chomhacht mharbhtha an ghalair seo ar fud na tíre. Táthar tuairmeach, amhthach, go gcuirfidh oibriú an Acht Bainne agus Deirithe feabhas ar an scéal le n-imtheacht ama. Tá árus ann anois i ngach áird do'n té atá ar lorg liagheachta i n-aghaidh an ghalair seo.
Táthar ag brostú ar aghaidh maidir le na h-osbidéil go genearálta. Fá láthair tá ceithre osbidéil chonndae críochnuighthe, osbidéil déag ceanntair agus ceithre osbidéil fiabhrais. 'Na dteannta san táthar i mbun thogála naoi n-osbidéil chonndae. Caitheadh gearr le miliún púnt ar an obair so fá mhí na Nodlag so tharainn, gan bacadh le leath-mhiliúin eile a caitheadh ar oibreacha méadaighthe agus deisighthe ag na h-Otharlainn Gealtachta.
Chuaidh mé i gcomhairle le déidheannaí leis an mhuinntir atá i mbun na n-oisbidéil neamhspleadhach annso i mBaile Atha Cliath maidir le ath-ordú na seirbhísí san agus socruigheadh go gcuirfí Malartán Leabaidh ar bun ionnas go bhféadfaí n h-othair atá gan mhaoin a leigint isteach ins na n-oisbidéil go réidh agus gan aon mhoill. Dubhradh le lucht na gceithre bpríomh-oisbidéil go bhféadfaí leanaint leo ar an tsocrú san agus na scéimeanna abhí i n-aigne acu le h-aghaidh méadaighthe agus deisighthe a n-árus do chur fá mo brághaid.
Rinneadh obair mhór eile le chabhair ó Chiste an Chrannchuir. Chuir naoi oisbidéil déag is fiche ar fud na tíre iarratais chugainn ag iarraidh go ndíolfaí leo deontais i n-aghaidh an mhéid airgid a chailleadh i rith na bliana. Rinne Coimisiún na nOisbidéil na h-iarratais d'infhiúchadh agus dhíoladh ochtú aon mhíle púnt, seacht gcéad agus aon phúnt dhéag i leith na seirbhísí seo.
Maidir le leigheas na h-aillse, socruigheadh go gcuirfí, comhairle ar bun chuige sin fé mar a mhol Coimisiún na n-Oisbidéil agus foillsigheadh ainmneacha na mball an lá fa dheireadh. Beidh costaisí na Comhairle seo iondhíolta as Chiste an Chrannchuir.
Mar a dubhairt mé go minic cheana, ní féidir sláinte na ndaoine agus a módh chomhnuighthe a scaradh ó chéile óir tá an dá rud comhcheangailte, agus táthar ag leanaint do'n deagh-obair atá eadar lámhaidh againn maidir le cúrsaí tigheachais, agus tá breis airgid ar fagháil fé'n bhóta so le h-aghaidh na h-oibre sin. Sa thriall a rinneadh i mbailteacha sa bhliain 1929, bhí 43,656 teach ag teastáil uainn. As an mhéid sin tá orainn seacht is fiche míle teach do sholáthair fós. Ní mór a rádh gur chuir an stailc a bhí ann anuraidh céim fada siar sinn san obair seo, óir ní doigh liom go mbeidh níos mó ná trí céad tighthe nua críochnuighthe i mBaile Atha Cliath fá chríoch na bliadhna-airgeadais seo, agus bfheidir céad i gCorcaigh. Tá ceithre céad agus ochtódh míle púnt curtha i n-airithe le h-aghaidh daoine príobh-áideacha agus Cumainn Maitheasa Puiblí. Ní'l mé sásta go bhfuil an triall a rinneadh sa bhliain 1929 ionchreidte i gceanntracha airithe indiu agus tá i nár n-aigne ath-thriall do chur fá réim go luath.
Maidir le ath-thógáil agus deisiúchán tighthe, tugadh deontaisí i leith 13,521 tighthe suas go dtí deireadh na bliana so.
Maidir leis an scéim atá againn le garrdhaí a chur ar fagháil do dhaoine díomaoine, do chuir na h-údarais áitiúil 4,382 dóibh siúd ar fagháil i rith na bliadhna so thart. Meastar go ndeanfar trí mhíle eile do sholáthar i mbliana.
Maidir lena boithrí, do dhíol na Comhairlí Conndae miliún agus ceathramha púnt le na gcothú i rith na bliana. Tá trí is dachad míle púnt sa bhreis, bhotálta i leith na h-oibre céadna i mbliana.
Sa bhliain airgeadais Reatha tháinic feabhas ar bhailiú na rataí thar an bliadhain roimhe sin. I Meadhon-Fothmhair bhí níos mó airgid bailighthe 'ná sa mí céadna i n-aon bhliain de'n ceithre bhlian roimhe sin. Bhí an scéal céadna amhlaidh níos moille sa bhliain. Tháinic feabhas fós ar bhailiúchán na mbliain-gcíos talmhan. Tá áthas orm a rádh go ndearna an biseach so sa bhailiúchán cúrsaí airgeadais na n-udarás áitiúil do neartú agus do dhaingniú.
This Estimate makes provision for a net expenditure of £1,337,914. Grants for housing amount to £836,307, and for public health services to £328,050, making a total sum of £1,164,357, for the social services included in this Vote. The amount represents an advance of approximately £80,000 on the provision made in the Department's Vote for similar services in the present financial year. As regards housing it is unnecessary to stress the need for making available the funds necessary to carry out the Government policy of slum clearance. The provision of public health services is equally necessary. These services form a very important part of the system of health administration now in force in every county. Most of them, but more particularly the schemes of child welfare and medical treatment of school children have not yet been fully developed in all counties, and a further expansion is likely to take place during the next few years according to the general system of health administration is perfected.
There is unmistakable evidence of an improvement in public health in recent years, especially as regards the incidence of infectious diseases. Temporary sets back may occur from time to time owing to exceptional causes or severe climatic conditions, but there is every reason to expect that by continued improvement in administrative and preventive methods it will be possible to secure a considerable abatement, if not a complete eradication of many of the infectious diseases which in the past have given rise to unnecessary suffering and loss of life. The principal infectious diseases were responsible for 1,601 deaths during the year 1936, a decrease of 303 as compared with the previous year. The decrease was mainly due to a lower death rate from influenza, measles and diphtheria. Twelve cases of typhus fever occurred in three districts and two cases of the disease proved fatal. In 1937 there were eight cases confined to one district. Four of the cases proved fatal.
There was a further decrease in the incidence of typhoid fever. The number of cases notified was 287 as compared with 420 in the year 1935. The number of deaths in 1936 was 63. In 1937 the number of cases increased to 414. The number of deaths was 65 in that year as compared with 63 in the previous year. The increase in the incidence rate was due mainly to a serious outbreak of the disease at Letterkenny Mental Hospital. It is satisfactory to record that in 49 out of 61 urban districts, excluding the four county boroughs, there were no cases of typhoid reported during the year 1937. In rural areas there were no recorded cases of the disease in 91 of the 176 rural districts into which the country was formerly divided. The occurrence of typhoid in an area is an indication of defective sanitary conditions, and the absence of recorded cases of the disease in so many areas is largely due to the greater attention given in recent years to the provision of pure water supplies and the installation of water-borne sewerage systems. I would like to emphasise the necessity of ensuring constant supervision of all such works. It is vital to the campaign for the elimination of typhoid fever that the greatest care be taken in the protection of water supplies both at the source and in the working of the purification plant. The duty should be entrusted to experienced and responsible officers. If this is done the medical staffs of sanitary authorities can concentrate upon the discovery and treatment of the typhoid carrier as a factor in outbreaks of typhoid fever.
There was a reduction in the incidence of diphtheria in 1936 as compared with 1935. The number of deaths in 1936 was 345 as compared with 378 in the previous year. The total number of cases notified during 1936 was 2,569. The number of notifications of the disease in 1937 was 2,511. The number of deaths in 1937 was 289, a reduction of 56 as compared with the year 1936. A drop in the incidence is reflected both in urban and rural areas. In the urban areas the number of cases dropped from 1,658 in 1935 to 1,320 in 1937, and in the rural areas from 1,403 to 1,191 during the same period.
Immunisation schemes are in operation in 15 counties and in three county boroughs. In seven counties schemes of immunisation have been delayed owing to refusal of the district medical officers to undertake the work on the grounds that the scale of remuneration is regarded as inadequate. In three of these counties it is proposed to employ whole-time medical practitioners for the purpose. It is essential to secure the immunisation of as large a proportion as possible of the child population against diphtheria. It is only in this manner that a further reduction in the incidence of the disease can be brought about. In most countries immunisation of the child population has been extensively resorted to with satisfactory results. In New York it was recently stated that 65 to 70 per cent. of children under six years had received protective inoculations against diphtheria, the number of those of pro-school age unimmunised being something over 200,000.
The number of scarlet fever cases notified in 1936 was 5,368, being an increase of 2,086 over the number of cases in the previous year. There was a rise in the incidence of this disease both in the urban and rural areas. In 1937 there was a drop in the number of cases notified to 4,476. The decline was confined entirely to the urban areas. The disease is very difficult to combat, but fortunately it has a low mortality rate as compared with diphtheria. The number of deaths in 1937 was 127 as compared with 173 in the year 1936 and 92 in the year 1935. The number of deaths from measles decreased from 316 in 1935 to 231 in 1936 and 120 in 1937. The average number of deaths from measles for the five years 1930/34 was 191. The disease is not compulsorily notifiable generally throughout the country and its incidence is not accurately known. The respiratory complications likely to arise from measles render the disease a formidable enemy of child life and the fall in the number of deaths in the last year is particularly gratifying.
There has been a considerable set-back in the rate of infantile mortality during the past three years. For the whole country the average rate has risen from 63 per 1,000 births in 1934 to 68 in 1935, 74 in 1936 and 72 in 1937. The increase since 1934 is mainly attributable to the urban areas, particularly Dublin County Borough, where the mortality rate rose in 1936 to the high level of 114 per 1,000 births. In 1937 the rate fell to 106 per 1,000 births. The excess of deaths in 1936 appears to have been due to an out break of diarrhoea and enteritis. This disease is often associated with impurity in milk. The operation of the Milk and Dairies Act and the regulations thereunder should help considerably to safeguard the purity of milk and prevent the spread of disease by infected milk.
Very valuable work for the safeguarding of infant life is being carried out under approved schemes in the four county boroughs, in 19 urban districts and five county health districts. In addition 113 voluntary associations are engaged in this work throughout the country. The lowest death rate of infants under one year per 1,000 births in 1936 was in the province of Connaught. The average rate was 54 deaths per 1,000 births. Mayo County had the lowest record with 44 deaths per 1,000 births.
The high incidence in the large centres of population indicates how much environment affects child life. In Dublin much valuable assistance is rendered through the child welfare scheme. It is administered on a comprehensive scale and is still developing. There is a whole-time medical officer in charge who is assisted by two part-time medical officers and a large staff of nurses. In 1936 there were 211,548 visits paid to mothers and children in their homes by nurses and voluntary workers. The attendances at the clinics held at the Carnegie Child Welfare Centre and at 12 other centres were 42,717 mothers and 43,035 children.
Free dinners are provided at three approved centres for necessitous expectant and nursing mothers. Cases requiring pre-natal treatment are referred to clinics attached to the three maternity hospitals. These clinics are subsidised by the Corporation. In the cities of Cork, Limerick and Waterford child welfare schemes are also in force, but are not administered on such a comprehensive scale as in Dublin. The visits of health visitors to mothers and children in these areas were, respectively, 12,560, 16,176, and 5,574.
The supply of free milk for which a sum of £90,000 is provided in this Estimate has been a valuable adjunct to schemes for the promotion of child welfare. Approved schemes were in operation in every district with the exception of two urban districts where the councils have declined to co-operate on the grounds that the amounts allocated for their districts were inadequate. During the year 1937-38 difficulty was experienced in certain areas owing to the unwillingness of suppliers to undertake the necessary improvements to their premises to warrant registration under the Milk and Dairies Act. These suppliers were consequently prohibited from selling milk. In a few cases, in order to alleviate so far as possible hardship to the children concerned, permission was granted on the recommendation of the county medical officers of health to the use of dried milk powder for a limited period. Present reports show an improvement of the position, and the numbers of registered dairymen throughout the country are steadily increasing.
Much attention has been devoted in recent years to maternal mortality, but the efforts to reduce the incidence of puerperal diseases had met with little success until last year. The death rate for 1936 was 4.7 per 1,000 births, which was slightly higher than the rate for the two preceding years. The provisional figures for the year 1937 indicate a very substantial drop in the rate to 3.2 per 1,000 births. The number of deaths in that year arising from puerperal sepsis are shown as 44 and from other puerperal conditions 137. Of the total number of deaths — viz., 181 — 125 occurred in rural areas and 56 in the county boroughs and urban districts.
School medical inspection schemes are now in operation in all administrative areas. The expansion of this service has been very great in the past two years. The total number of school children inspected in 1936 was 102,421. The following defects were ascertained: Dental, 46,065; tonsils and adenoids, 20,810; defective vision and other eye defects, 18,390. For defects that require surgical treatment arrangements are generally made with public hospitals. Other defects are generally dealt with by officers specially employed for the purpose. The schemes continue to receive the utmost co-operation of the school managers and teachers.
School meals are provided in the four county boroughs, 40 urban districts, and seven towns under town commissioners. Meals were provided under the schemes in 227 national schools during the year ended 31st March, 1937. The average daily number of children in receipt of meals was 25,903. The total number of meals provided was approximately 4,209,000. In the Gaeltacht, school meals are provided by the boards of health for West Cork and for the counties of Galway, Donegal, Kerry and Mayo. The total number of meals provided in the financial year 1936-37 was approximately 2,643,000. The mid-day meal usually provided under the schemes consists of milk, or cocoa with milk, and bread with butter or jam. In some instances milk does not form part of the meal owing to the difficulty of obtaining supplies in certain areas especially in winter.
Schemes for the treatment of tuberculosis are now in operation in each county and county borough. There are 32 central and 208 branch tuberculosis dispensaries. There are also local sanatoria or tuberculosis hospitals in three county boroughs and 15 counties. In two other counties there are wards in district hospitals specially set aside for tuberculosis patients. In addition open-air treatment and facilities for the education of children suffering from tuberculosis are provided in five institutions under private management. In 1936 there were 3,480 deaths from tuberculosis, being a decrease of 290 on the number of deaths for 1935. The number of deaths in urban areas was 1,434 and in rural areas 2,046. In the urban areas the death rate from tuberculosis was 1.49 per 1,000 of the population of these areas as compared with 1.02 per 1,000 of the population in the rural areas. The provisional statistics for 1937 show that the number of deaths from all forms of tuberculosis increased by 102 over the number of deaths in 1936. In 1937 the death rate from influenza was exceptionally high and the prevalence of that disease must have affected adversely the death rate from pulmonary tuberculosis.
The Milk and Dairies Act (except Part IV and Sections 32 and 33) and the regulations made thereunder, came into operation generally on the 1st January, 1937, but the operation of the provisions of Section 24 of the Act which prohibits the sale of milk by unregistered dairymen or on unregistered premises and of a number of provisions of the Milk and Dairies Regulations in relation to structural conditions and equipment was deferred until the 1st July, 1937, so as to afford dairymen sufficient time to bring their premises into conformity with the statutory requirements. On the whole it was found that dairymen had not rendered their premises suitable for registration by that date, due to a variety of causes, and some degree of leniency had to be exercised by sanitary authorities to prevent a shortage of milk in many areas. In cases where dairymen were not taking reasonable steps to remedy the defects in their premises and in methods of milk production it was found that the issue of Refusal Orders by the sanitary authority had a salutary effect.
A sum of approximately £275,000 is being spent on new public health works in the present financial year, apart from the new scheme of water supply for Dublin, for which a loan of £896,000 is to be raised by the Corporation of Dublin.
Further progress was made during the year in connection with the provision of new hospitals. Four county hospitals, 11 district hospitals and four fever hospitals have been completed. The erection of nine further county hospitals is in progress. They are being erected at Cashel, Castlebar, Ennis, Mallow, Kilkenny, Port-laoighise, Roscommon, Sligo and Tullamore. The hospitals at Cashel, Ennis and Mallow are almost completed. There are also in course of erection four district hospitals at Gorey, Killarney, Listowel and New Ross and two fever hospitals at Naas and Swinford. The expenditure from the Hospitals Fund up to 31st December, 1937, amounted to £935,347.
Works for the provision or improvement of mental hospitals have been undertaken in most of the mental hospital districts. The expenditure out of hospital funds up to 31st December, 1937, for this purpose, amounted to £642,384. Not only has additional accommodation been provided for the ordinary patients, but new admission blocks, isolation hospitals and separate blocks for the chronic mentally deficient and tuberculous patients have been erected. The provision of additional accommodation by way of new buildings has been accompanied by extensive improvements in the existing accommodation. Modern systems of heating, lighting, drainage and water supply, together with new kitchen and laundry equipment have been installed in many of the hospitals.
On the provision of new sanatoria, public health clinics, the expenditure to 31st December last amounted to £162,155. Grants to nursing associations, library council and medical research council amounted to £63,807.
The scheme for the reorganisation of the hospital services in Dublin has been discussed with the representatives of the voluntary hospitals and the medical profession, and agreement has been arrived at in regard to the establishment of a hospital bureau to control the admission of patients for free treatment in the voluntary hospitals. The authorities of the four large voluntary hospitals were recently notified that they may proceed with the preparation of plans for the provision of improved accommodation to the extent indicated in the first general report of the Hospitals Commission.
Applications were received from the authorities of 39 voluntary hospitals for payments from the Hospitals Trust Fund in respect of deficits in their accounts for the year 1936. These applications were investigated by the Hospitals commission, who recommended payments amounting to a total of £81,711. There has been a progressive increase in the deficits of these hospitals since 1933. The Hospitals Commission, after examining the matter very carefully, expressed the opinion that the remedy lay in improvement of the administration system of the hospitals with a view to the effective internal control of expenditure. The hospitals were requested to give this matter serious attention.
A hospital library service was established last October by the Hospital Library Council. The central book depot is at Lower Mount Street, Dublin. Suitable books will be supplied on loan to hospital authorities for the use of their patients. A book stock of over 7,000 volumes was acquired and 38 hospitals applied for books. The council have appointed an organising librarian who will visit the hospitals and advise on the establishment and administration of libraries within the hospitals themselves. The scheme is developing satisfactorily and, although at present only the voluntary hospitals and sanatoria are being dealt with, it is hoped in time to cover the whole hospital system of the country.
The Medical Research Council considered 28 applications for grants during the year 1937. Fifteen were sanctioned by the council, 11 were rejected and two were withdrawn.
At the end of December, 1936, I received a report from the Hospitals Commission in regard to the institutional facilities for radio therapeutic treatment of malignant diseases. The more important of the commission's recommendations were:—1. That a radio therapeutic institution adequately staffed and equipped for the modern treatment of cancer should be provided in or near Dublin. 2.—That the training of a suitable personnel to staff the institution should be undertaken. 3.—That a national representative body to be known as the cancer council should be constituted.
After consideration of this report I decided to accept in principle the recommendations of the commission and to constitute a provisional cancer council consisting of 15 members, including representatives of the voluntary hospitals, the universities, and the Royal Dublin Society. Four of the members, including the chairman, were nominated by me.
It will be the duty of the council to submit to the Minister proposals for the provision, staffing, equipment, administration and maintenance of a radio therapeutic institution, having regard to existing facilities and, in general, to report on such aspects of the problem as the council thinks fit. The expenses will be defrayed out of the Hospitals Trust Fund.
The provision for housing subsidies under the 1932 Act amounts to £834,700. Of this amount a sum of £354,700 will be payable to local authorities as a contribution to loan charges on moneys borrowed for housing schemes already undertaken. Subsidy is payable at a rate not exceeding 66? per cent. of the loan charges incurred in connection with the re-housing of persons removed from insanitary areas, subject to a maximum capital cost of £500 for flats and £400 for single dwellings in the county boroughs and Dun Laoghaire Borough, and £300 in other urban areas, including towns under town commissioners.
Following upon representations made by the Association of Municipal Authorities and subsequent discussion with representatives of the association it was decided, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, to allow the capital cost of houses to rank for subsidy to be raised from £300 to £350 in urban areas and towns under town commissioners.
For ordinary housing schemes the subsidy payable is not to exceed 33? per cent. of the loan charges incurred by the local authorities, on the provision of houses up to a maximum cost of £450 in the county boroughs and the Borough of Dun Laoghaire and £350 in other urban areas, including towns under town commissioners.
The number of houses provided by local authorities in the present year will be approximately 2,100 in urban areas and 2,800 in rural areas. The number of labourers' cottages is well up to the average of the past three years, but there has been a considerable drop in the number of houses erected in urban areas. The prolonged strike in the building trade in 1937 was a serious set-back to the building schemes of the Corporations of Dublin and Cork. In these areas the numbers of houses completed within the present financial year are not likely to exceed 300 and 100, respectively. Up to the end of February, 1938, there had been 16,618 dwellings provided by local authorities in county borough, urban districts and towns under town commissioners.
The passage of the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932, marked the initiation of a plan under which it was hoped to provide through local authorities adequate housing accommodation to meet the needs of the people living in insanitary dwellings. A survey of housing needs in urban areas and towns under town commissioners made in the year 1929 showed that 43,656 houses were required in these areas. It is interesting to review the progress since made in building the houses estimated to be required according to the 1929 survey. Up to the end of last month 16,618 houses had been provided under the 1932 Act by local authorities. Subsequent to the making of the survey and prior to the passing of the 1932 Act, 2,919 houses had been provided. It is doubtful after the lapse of almost nine years if the survey is a true indication of the extent of present needs, and it is proposed to institute a fresh survey in certain areas towards the end of the present year. In the county boroughs, urban districts and towns under town commissioners it is estimated there are still to be provided 27,000 houses.
On the basis of the survey the housing needs have been almost fully met in 27 out of 61 urban districts and three out of 21 towns under town commissioners. In 50 per cent. of the remainder of the urban districts the number of new dwellings provided represents from 60 per cent. to 90 per cent. of the housing needs, as estimated in 1929. Outside the four county boroughs it should be possible to complete the remainder of the housing programme within five years.
When speaking last April on the Vote for the Department for the present year, I expressed disappointment at the rate of housing progress in Dublin and stated that the production of houses would require to be increased to at least 2,500 every year. The number of houses provided in the two previous years was approximately 1,500. In the present year owing to the prolonged strike in the building trade the number provided will be about 300. There is, however, some consolation to be derived from the fact that the advance planning and preliminary development of sites have been well attended to with a view to maintaining in future a building programme at a maximum throughout successive schemes.
An interesting report of the Housing Committee of the Corporation published recently outlines a five year building programme. The report sets out the extent of the housing problem in the city at present as ascertained by a house-to-house inspection of city tenements. The number of families living in dwellings unfit for human habitation is recorded as 13,106, and the number of families living in overcrowded dwellings otherwise fit for human habitation is given as 6,768. The clearance of insanitary areas is the urgent problem and should receive prior attention in every area. In Cork and Limerick, the provision of new dwellings is on a low scale and unless effort is made to increase the annual output the number of houses yet to be built to meet the estimated housing needs according to the 1929 survey will not be completed within the next ten years. In Waterford the problem is not relatively as great as in the other county boroughs.
The report of the Housing Committee in Dublin to which I alluded sets out that it is the aim of the Corporation to secure an output of at least 2,500 dwellings per annum. The information contained in the report encourages me to think that the number could be increased to about 3,000. The schemes at present under contract provide for 3,317 dwellings and most of the sites in respect of other schemes included in the Corporation programme are stated to have been already acquired; roads and sanitary services have either been constructed or installed, or are being provided, and the preparation of plans well advanced for contract tender. This advance planning and preparation of sites is to be commended.
The amount included in this Vote for the making of grants to private persons and public utility societies is £480,000 for the erection and reconstruction of houses. The Housing and Labourers Act, 1937, extended the amount of grants which may be made for this purpose to a sum of £3,500,000. The grants for the erection of houses in urban areas will cease on the 30th September next. The amount paid in grants up to the 31st December, 1937, was £1,231,581 in respect of 20,448 new houses in urban and rural areas and £517,582 in respect of 13,521 houses reconstructed in rural areas. Of the 20,448 new houses provided since 1932, 8,691 are in urban areas and 11,757 in rural areas. Of the total number of houses erected by private persons and public utility societies in urban areas, approximately 60 per cent. have been erected in Dublin County Borough. Of the 11,757 new houses erected in rural areas since 1932, 1,733 were for agricultural labourers; 5,083 for small farmers up to £15 valuation; 897 for farmers from £15 to £25 valuation, and 3,300 for other persons. In the rural areas the largest number of houses were built in the following counties in the order mentioned: Mayo, Kerry, Dublin, Cork, Galway, Roscommon, Monaghan, Limerick, Clare, and Sligo. The number of new houses in course of construction or about to be begun by private persons and public utility societies in urban and rural areas is 8,175.
The number of houses reconstructed in rural areas up to the 31st December, 1937, was 13,521, of which 12,345 were for small farmers and 1,176 for agricultural labourers. The largest numbers of houses reconstructed were in the counties of Cork, Louth, Mayo, Longford, Galway, Kerry, Monaghan, and Roscommon. There are at present in course of reconstruction 10,466 houses.
During the year 1937 local authorities provided 4,382 allotments for unemployed persons. The plots are usually let at 1/- each to such persons. For the present year schemes embracing 1,700 plots have already been sanctioned and it is estimated that a further 3,300 will be provided. Local authorities are recouped the loss occasioned by the letting of these allotments at nominal rents to unemployed persons. I would like to see allotment schemes extended in every area. The value of vegetable growing in allotments has a considerable bearing on health and nutrition. Vegetables furnish starch, an essential constituent of human dietary. The potato is particularly rich in energy - bearing substances in a form that can be easily assimilated. It is a valuable source of iron and of vitamin C, the preventive against scurvy. This vitamin is retained in high proportion after cooking, which is not so in the case of green vegetables.
Leafy green vegetables are rich in the B vitamins, deficiency of which causes various nervous ailments, and in vitamin A, the anti-infective vitamin. They also contain abundant vitamin C. As this substance is sensitive to heat in the form found in green vegetables, the dietary value of uncooked salads is obvious. The abundance of minerals and vitamins in green vegetables and the special character of the protein, although present in small quantities, make them of great value, especially as supplementary foods to a diet containing cereals or potatoes.
The net amount provided by county councils for the maintenance of main and county roads for the coming year amounts to approximately £1,250,000. There is an increase of approximately £43,000 on the amount voted for the present year. The provision made for main roads shows a decrease of about £9,000, while an increase of approximately £52,000 has been made for county roads. The experimental provision of vehicle-actuated traffic control lights at one of the Dublin City street junctions has proved a success and arrangements are being made for an extension of this method of traffic control to other suitable street junctions in the city.
The county rate collection in the current financial year shows an improvement on the preceding year. In September the proportion of the warrants collected was higher than that during September in the four preceding years, and 21 counties had a better record than in the previous year. At the end of December the improvement in the general position was maintained, the proportion of the warrants for the year then outstanding being then less than in any of the five preceding years. The returns up to the 31st March will, it is expected, show a continuance of the improvement in the previous quarters.
There was a further improvement in the collection of land annuities in 1937. In 15 counties repayments in respect of arrears of annuities exceeded the draws in respect of arrears on the current gales and the county councils have received in addition to their full normal grants, additional payments amounting to £82,685. In 12 counties arrears of current annuities exceeded repayments in respect of previous arrears by a sum of £42,383. This amount was recovered from the balance of local taxation grants payable to the councils of these counties for the current financial year.
The finances of most of the county councils reflect the improvement in the rate collection and in the recovery of arrears of annuities, and it is unnecessary to resort to temporary borrowing to the same extent as previous years for the financing of local services.
