asked the Minister for Lands if he will state whether he has received a complaint concerning the allegedly unfair method adopted by a local Land Commission ganger for selecting men for work on a Land Commission improvement scheme carried out at Ballinakill, County Laoghis; whether work was refused to a number of registered unemployed persons, whereas some of those given work on the scheme were taken from other employment, and if he will now state what action, if any, he has taken or proposes taking concerning this complaint.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Selection of Road Workers.
As the Deputy has been already informed by a letter sent to him from my office on the 21st instant, I have had detailed inquiry made into the complaints in question, and I am satisfied that they are quite unfounded. No action on the matter is, therefore, contemplated.
Is it not a fact that the letter was sent to me on the same day as the Minister received notice of this question? Can I take it from the Minister that he is satisfied that no unemployed men, registered or unregistered, were refused employment on this scheme?
The Deputy was not present when I was replying to the debate on the Land Commission Estimate or he would have heard my explanation based on the information I received from the inspectors in this particular case. I then stated that if the Deputy was not satisfied he could make further representations. A letter was in course of preparation when the Deputy put down this question and I am not in a position to add anything further to what I stated in the letter and what I have stated now in my reply.
The Minister's reply to me in writing does not answer the supplementary question which I asked and which I now repeat: Is the Minister satisfied that in this particular case no unemployed men, registered or unregistered, were refused employment by the Land Commission ganger?
I am satisfied that there is no justification for the allegations that have been made in this case.