asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health if he will state what is the present position at law in regard to the soldiers' and sailors' trust houses; what is the position in regard to the ownership and the payment of rates concerning them; and what are the intentions of the Government in regard to the introduction of proposals for legislation for the purpose of regularising the occupancy of the houses in question.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Soldiers' and Sailors' Houses.
As regards the first part of the question, I would refer the Deputy to judgements of the Supreme Court, particularly the judgement of the 4th March, 1937, in Casey and Others v. the Irish Sailors' and Soldiers' Land Trust. Briefly summarised, that judgement decided:
(1) that the trust was not entitled to charge rents to meet the cost of maintenance and organisation;
(2) that the trust was a public eleemosynary corporation and that the ex-servicemen had no estate in the land, equitable or otherwise, but were put into occupation at the will of the trust and were tenants at will or tenants by sufferance of the trust, which was charged with the duty of administering the trust of its lands for the benefit of all ex-servicemen.
(3) that, as already decided in the Leggett case, the ex-servicemen in occupation of the cottages were not bound to pay any rent in respect of the occupation of the cottages and, accordingly, letting agreements made were void so far as they purported to create legal rights and duties, but that the ex-servicemen were in occupation of the cottages as statutory tenants at will and were entitled to the benefits of, and were subject to, all the provisions of the Labourers Acts which were incorporated in relation to the statutory tenacies.
As regards the second part of the question, I would refer the Deputy to Section 56 of the Local Government Act, 1941, which makes the occupiers of the houses provided by the trust liable for the payment of rates thereon. The occupiers of such houses which do not come within the meaning of the Local Government (Rates on Small Dwellings) Act, 1926, were always liable for payment of the rates on the houses occupied by them.
As regards the last part of the question, I have nothing to add to the answer given to the Deputy's question of the 21st March last.