asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health if he will give the names of the urban councils which participated in turf winning activities since 1940; if he will state how many of such urban councils incurred losses on such activities; and to what amount are such activities represented in the form of overdrafts at the end of the last financial year; and if he will remit the charge of such overdrafts in accordance with the undertaking given that no local authority would be at any loss on account of its turf winning campaign.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Urban Councils' Turf Commitments.
A tabular statement containing the information requested in the first three parts of the question will be circulated with the Official Report. As regards the remainder of the question the Government guarantee to local bodies against loss on turf production is quite explicit in its terms. The Deputy has quoted it rather freely. It covers all reasonable expense incurred by county councils in producing turf for use outside their areas, and in the case of urban bodies producing turf it ensures a market for any surplus turf of good quality offered for sale. Every case must be examined in relation to the actual facts before it can be decided whether the conditions of the Government guarantee are wholly or partly applicable thereto. Most of the urban authorities (including town commissioners) had at the 31st March, 1944, cleared their debit balances by meeting them out of ordinary revenue. At that date a small number of them had overdrafts on separate turf accounts but only in two instances were the overdrafts of any considerable extent. The Corporations of Cork and Limerick undertook special schemes of turf production in which persons in receipt of unemployment assistance were employed. The statement does not include particulars of expenditure on such schemes.
The following is the tabular statement referred to:—
Local Authorities |
Estimated loss |
Debit Balance recorded at 31st March, 1944 |
£ |
£ |
|
Athy Urban District Council |
272 |
172 |
Athlone Urban District Council |
216 |
— |
Ball na Urban District Council |
207 |
— |
Belturbet Urban District Council |
— |
— |
Birr Urban District Council |
1,999 |
— |
Bundoran Urban District Council |
115 |
— |
Carlow Urban District Council |
570 |
— |
Carrickmacross Urban District Council |
71 |
— |
Cashel Urban District Council |
8 |
— |
Ceanannus Mor Urban District Council |
1,000 |
601 |
Clones Urban District Council |
324 |
— |
Clonmel Urban District Council |
1,873 |
— |
Granard Urban District Council |
97 |
— |
Naas Urban District Council |
682 |
— |
Passage West Urban District Council |
31 |
— |
Monaghan Urban District Council |
60 |
— |
Skibbereen Urban District Council |
2,026 |
2,404 |
Thurles Urban District Council |
114 |
— |
Tullamore Urban District Council |
— |
— |
Wicklow Urban District Council |
166 |
12 |
Droichead Nua Town Commissioners |
171 |
171 |
Mullingar Town Commissioners |
2,236 |
153 |
Tuam Town Commissioners |
80 |
— |