asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health if he will cause inquiries to be made into the number of "notices to quit" served on tenants of Dublin Corporation cottages and flats in the two years ended 31st December, 1944; and if he will make representations that these be withdrawn, where the failure to pay the rent can be proved to be due to the breadwinner being unemployed or a patient in a hospital or sanatorium, or where death has left a widow and family to exist on widows' and orphans' pensions, which do not include a rent allowance.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - “Notices to Quit” on Dublin Corporation Tenants.
The Deputy has been a member of the Dublin Corporation for very many years and has been several times Lord Mayor. He must be aware, therefore, of his responsibilities in this matter, which is one for the corporation alone. He knows that it is not my place to make such representations as he suggests. Accordingly I do not propose, at the behest of the Deputy, to arrogate to myself that function, particularly as I believe that, if it suited his purpose, he would be among the first to cry out against any such unwarranted interference on my part. I may say, moreover, that I am satisfied that the corporation in collecting its rents acts with due consideration for the circumstances of its tenants and is never unreasonable in its attitude towards them.
Would the Minister look at the last line of the question, which draws attention to the fact that when a tenant dies, and the widow and family are left on widows' and orphans' pensions of 24/- or 25/-, they are not able to pay 12/6 for a cottage, and will he see that the eviction notices are withdrawn in such cases? I cannot give orders. The managerial mind is passed along into heads of departments, and they are afraid of the local government auditor, who insists on collection of the rent, whether the tenants have the money or not. I want to stop the evictions.
There is no reason whatever to believe that the corporation acts unreasonably in relation to tenants who are in arrears with their rents. On the contrary, they act with the utmost consideration. There are 5,000 tenants in arrear, and of that number active proceedings have been taken against only 31. The Deputy knows the circumstances; he knows his responsibility; he knows that those houses are the property of the Dublin Corporation; he knows that he can bring about effective pressure to secure that nothing harsh or unjust is done in relation to this matter.
By a supplementary question, I have succeeded in drawing from the Minister that there are 5,000 people under threat—information which he would not give in his first reply. It is up to him to see that the managerial system——
That is not a supplementary question.
I am asking the Minister whether he will see that something is done in accordance with the latter portion of my question, so that, where a tenant leaves a widow who is not able to pay the rent, she will not be evicted. That is all I am asking.
The Deputy knows his responsibility in this matter. The Minister has none.
The Minister, according to the city manager, is responsible for the managerial system. The corporation is not.