Another provision which the Dáil will find in this year's Estimate and for which no counterpart will be found in the Department's Estimates years ago is for the turf section. The need for that section will, I hope, become rapidly less until it ultimately disappears. It was established towards the end of 1941 to deal with the problem which had been created by the sudden interruption of our normal supplies of imported fuel. When it was first established, the nation found itself faced with an emergency of the gravest kind.
In 1939 we imported practically £3,000,000 tons of coal. In 1941 our imports were suddenly and drastically reduced to about half this figure and continued to decline until, in 1944, they were only three-quarters of a million tons. This was the emergency to cope with which the aid of my Department and authorities under it was enlisted. Immediately our help was asked the road-making organisations of all the local authorities in those areas where the peat deposits were of sufficient importance to justify it were switched off from their normal work to the job of fuel production.
In the period from that time until the end of the last cutting season the road-making staffs of the local authorities, under the direction of the turf section of my Department, have produced almost £2,500,000 tons of fuel, a figure which represents by far the most important native contribution to the solution of our fuel problem. Not only did the road-making organisations of the local authorities produce this huge quantity of turf themselves, but they made it easy for others to produce turf. Under the aegis of the Department they acquired and developed turf banks and leased them to other producers. They worked in co-operation with the Turf Development Board and by propaganda encouraged private producers and organised groups, such as parish councils and turf societies, to win turf. Without their help I think I can say the domestic fuel position in the non-turf areas would have been desperate indeed.
The County Councils spent over £5,500,000 on the work, the greater part of which has been recouped by the various purchasers. The part unrecouped is represented by the value of turf on hands and by sums due to the councils, but not yet certified for payment.
When we remember that the task of providing fuel for the nation's need was undertaken, at almost catastrophically short notice, by men, the great majority of whom had no previous knowledge of the job, and who had to acquire their technique and perfect their organisations as the works progressed, I think we have every reason to be grateful to them, and to the staff in the section in my Department under which they worked. That section is not a very extensive one; its personnel numbers only 12 and its annual cost is less than £3,000, but without it I doubt whether the community should have done so well in regard to fuel as, in fact, it did.
I have given the Dáil some account of the services for which we require this amount we ask for this year. It is not as full or as explicit an account as I should have liked, and I have given at least such an account of the services as the position will permit me to give. I have outlined some of the reasons why an active and progressive Minister and his Department would require a much larger staff than sufficed for his predecessor in 1931-32. I now propose to refer to some of the more salient features of our works during the past 12 months.
We have, for instance, almost completely overtaken the arrears which had accumulated in the audit of accounts of local authorities. As the House is no doubt aware, for a variety of reasons, these audits were for some considerable time heavily in arrear. I must safeguard myself from misrepresentation by pointing out this uncomfortable fact, that at the 31st March, 1932, the number of audits in arrear was 516; on the 31st March, 1943, it was 492; on the 31st March, 1944, it was 466, and on the 31st March, 1945, it was 441. To this figure of 441 had to be added 256 new accounts arising for audit in the next financial year, which gave a total of 697 accounts to be dealt with last year.
The position in regard to the audits has been a matter of great concern to me since I became Minister for Local Government. Accordingly, when Deputy Childers was appointed Parliamentary Secretary I assigned to him, among other tasks, that of dealing with this problem. Since then very close attention has been devoted to it. As a result, I am happy to say now that, following the reorganisation which has taken place in the audit section, and the additional staff which we have been able to obtain, 631 out of the 697 audits were completed on 31st March last, reducing the outstanding arrears to 66. These will be cleared off in a month or so, and the current audit work for the present financial year has already commenced. Henceforward all concerned can feel assured that local authority audits will not be long delayed after the closing of accounts.
I have already drawn attention to the fact that this year it is proposed to set up a town planning section in the Department. Were it not for the need to concentrate attention upon the complex problems thrown up by wartime conditions, this would have been done some years ago after the passing of the 1939 Planning Act. As it was, the work arising out of the Planning Acts was temporarily entrusted to the housing section of the Department. That section, however, will now be more fully occupied in getting the resumed housing drive under way. Moreover, it is my intention to induce local authorities to give their close consideration to the need for careful planning in the development and improvement of their functional areas. It is, therefore, urgently necessary to constitute the new section. With the establishment of a town planning section, it will be possible for the Department to be of greater assistance to local authorities than hitherto during the various stages in the preparation of a town and district plan. Though a considerable amount of educative work, by way of explanatory pamphlets and model clauses, has been done already in order to help local authorities to take advantage of the Acts, nevertheless, when draft planning schemes are prepared and submitted, the responsibilities of the Department will be considerably increased and will fall mainly on the new section. The specially trained officers of the section will confer with local authorities on the questions which will arise in the preparation of draft planning schemes, will assist them in their difficulties and will, it is hoped, convince local authorities that planning, if carried out in time, is a sound and economical business proposition.
Last year 21 local authorities resolved to make planning schemes, bringing the total number of districts in which the Planning Acts now apply to 57. In addition, two authorities have taken the initial steps. Other local bodies are giving consideration to their powers, particularly in view of post-war development. So far only a small number of draft schemes have been completed but the work generally is well advanced and preliminary reports and surveys have been or are being made.
The next matter to which I propose to refer is the condition of the rate collection. Last year, I am happy to say, it showed a marked improvement, the percentage collected during the year being 94 as compared with 90 the previous year. The financial position, therefore, of local authorities has improved generally and this is reflected in the diminished amount of temporary borrowing from their treasurers by way of overdrafts. It is gratifying to be able to say that every county council had a credit balance on its ordinary revenue account on the 31st March last. Not only is the present position satisfactory but I think that it will perhaps be more satisfactory in future because there are two new factors which should help county councils still further to conrecoupe solidate and improve their financial position. One is the increase in the grants from the Road Fund which I was able to announce earlier this year and the other is the increase in the Agricultural Grant announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget statement. At this point I should like to impress on all managers, their personal responsibility for ensuring that all moneys owing to the local authorities for which they act are expeditiously and systematically collected. One of the most important duties of managers is to see that the finances of their councils are in order and the most serious view will be taken of any failure to fulfil this obligation fully and satisfactorily.
Expenditure on roads is normally the largest single item in the estimates of county councils. Partly on account of shortage of road surfacing materials such as tar and bitumen, and partly on account of the diversion of labour to agriculture and turf, the condition of roads in recent years suffered some deterioration. County councils generally have responded to the offer of increased grants by widening the scope of their road schemes and it is expected that by this time next year there will be considerable improvement in the condition of the roads. It may be well to emphasise that the increased grants which were made this year were made on a temporary basis only, limited from year to year; no question, therefore, arises of stabilising them at their present figure.
Housing must remain one of the main preoccupations of the local authorities and the Department. The efforts made to induce housing authorities to continue building, despite increasing difficulties, is proof of our determination to solve the housing problems with the least possible delay. While the falling off in new construction, due to shortage of materials, continued during the last year the number of houses built was not unsatisfactory having regard to the scarcity of essential materials. Of 695 houses erected, 656 were in urban areas, mostly in Dublin City, and 39 in rural areas.
As the House is aware, local authorities have, at the instance of the Department, been engaged in making a survey of the housing requirements in their areas. This survey is now practically complete. As a result it is estimated that approximately 60,000 houses will be required to meet the needs of workers in all areas. Roughly half the total is required in the four county boroughs and less than one-quarter of the total in other urban areas. The remainder, comprising between 16,000 and 17,000 houses, is required in rural areas.
Where surveys have been completed, local authorities have been urged to prepare schemes that can be commenced when building materials become available. As a result land has been acquired in urban areas, excluding Dublin City, for over 6,000 houses and in rural areas for over 3,000 houses while proposals for the acquisition of land in a large number of urban and rural areas have also been approved or are at present under consideration. Plans have been prepared and, in the majority of cases, approved for the erection of over 6,000 houses and for the development of a further 442 sites.
In Dublin City, in which a considerable number of Deputies will be interested, schemes for 2,717 houses are ready for contract. Tentative proposals for the acquisition of sites for a further 2,157 houses are being considered. In addition the reconditioning of tenement houses in several streets is proceeding satisfactorily and further reconditioning schemes providing for a total of 354 flats have been prepared by the corporation and compulsory purchase orders made.
In Cork City, almost 4,000 additional houses will be required. Sites comprising 170 acres have been acquired. A scheme for 200 houses on which it is hoped to commence work at an early date has been drawn up. I cannot say that I regard the rate of progress in Cork as very satisfactory.
I move to report progress.
