asked the Minister for Finance if, where applications are made, under the Rural Improvements Scheme, for the repair of roads leading to turf bogs for the convenience of people living in such areas, he will be prepared to accept offers of work and material in lieu of cash contributions from such people.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Rural Improvements Scheme.
The arrangement suggested by the Deputy was fully considered when the Rural Improvements Scheme was originally framed, but was rejected as unsuitable.
Experiments have since been tried in a number of instances in which applicants under the scheme offered to supply free labour, carting, or materials, in lieu of a cash contribution. The results, however, have not been encouraging, as in a large proportion of the cases the applicants were either unwilling to make the specified contributions in kind, or else, when the work had been started, failed to carry out their undertakings. In addition, the administration of schemes under this system presents considerable difficulties.
For the present at all events, therefore, I am not prepared to accept the Deputy's suggestion.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary consider this variant of Deputy Heskin's suggestion, that is, while requiring the applicant to make the specified contribution in cash, give, on the occasion of the making of that contribution, a reciprocal undertaking that he would be employed or would be allowed to provide material at an agreed price, it being clearly understood that if his work were unsatisfactory the Board of Works would be entitled to dismiss him or, if the quality of his deliveries did not come up to standard, the board would be entitled to withhold payment, as they would with any other contractor, thus leaving it open to the man in fact to pay in kind or in labour if he was prepared honestly to do so and leaving it open to the board to prevent any attempt on the part of the subscriber to bilk the board in the performance of his part of the contract?
That is a fairly involved supplementary but I should like to assure the Deputies who are interested that practically every aspect of this problem has been considered and, as I stated in my reply, while it was fully considered when this matter was originally suggested to us as a feasible means of operating the scheme and was rejected, we have since been experimenting with it even though we felt, and have found since that we were justified in feeling, that anything other than a cash contribution is likely to prove unworkable.
Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary would consider my proposal?
We consider every proposal.