I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £659,950 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 1949, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Local Government, including grants to local authorities and other expenses in connection with housing, miscellaneous grants and a grant in aid.
The total of the Estimate for the expenses of the Department for the year is £1,139,950. The main divisions of the Vote are those relating to salaries and expenses of the office of the Minister, amounting to a net sum of £127,400, miscellaneous grants of £11,660, and finally a sum of £1,000,890 for housing.
It may, therefore, be seen at a glance that the provision for housing will absorb the greater portion of the estimated expenditure, 88 per cent. of the total in fact. By reason merely of the magnitude of the provision made in the estimates for this service I should, therefore, give it the most prominent place in my introductory remarks, but it deserves that place also on account of the magnitude of the problem which it presents and the grave social considerations which demand its speedy solution.
The most urgent housing needs are those which the local authorities are responsible for meeting. They involve the provision, in a comprehensive programme, of new houses for about 60,000 families at present living in insanitary or overcrowded or otherwise unsuitable conditions. Of this 60,000, the needs of Dublin City and its environs account for about 26,000.
The carrying out of this local authority programme involves very serious difficulties and it is to the solution of these difficulties that I have been giving prior attention since I assumed office as Minister for Local Government.
Deputies will be already aware of the main headings under which these difficulties may be classified—shortage of materials; shortage of skilled labour; a consequent lack of readiness on the part of contractors to tender for the erection of local authority houses; rising costs where tenders are received; delay in completion of contracts; and, as a result of all these factors, a general state of uncertainty in the minds of local bodies as to the extent to which they are expected to proceed with their programmes in view of the difficulties which appear to many of them to be insurmountable.
It is to remove these uncertainties and to get generally accepted methods of approach that I have instituted the practice of going round to meet the representatives and officers of local bodies in their own areas, to discuss these problems with them and to bring them into contact with the representatives of building organisations and trade unions which are concerned with the building of local authority houses.
For the relatively short period during which I have been engaged on this work I may say that the results are on the whole encouraging. I feel that the local authorities with whom I have been in contact, and other local authorities who have read the Press accounts of these contacts, are now convinced of my determination and the determination of the Department to allow no obstacles to be placed in their way in so far as their proposals for building more houses can be shown to be practicable. The utilisation of the direct labour system to supplement the contract system where the latter has been found insufficient has been discussed with the local authorities. I propose shortly to give them detailed practical suggestions as to methods of planning and organising direct labour building and to advise them as to the materials which might be purchased and brought into stock beforehand. The guarantee of a continuous programme of house-building should help to attract skilled tradesmen into the employment of local authorities and, where possible, such a guarantee should, therefore, be given.
Another very desirable practice which I wish to see generally adopted is the acquisition by local authorities of sites for letting to private persons who are unable to purchase sites individually. These facilities might be provided in particular for those classes of houses qualifying for grants or for advances under the Small Dwellings Acts.
Deputies will be aware of the recent appointment of a Housing Consultative Council for Dublin City and County and Dún Laoghaire Borough and in connection therewith the delegation of all executive housing functions to the assistant city manager, Mr. T. C. O'Mahony, who will act as housing director for the whole area. The Dublin problem, as I have said, represents a large proportion of the whole national problem and I have asked the consultative council and the housing director to examine every possibility of relieving the housing shortage. The results of their investigations can be made available through the Department to the housing authorities in other areas. The matters to be dealt with by the council and the director include a survey of vacant or derelict accommodation in the city and county and the question of its acquisition and reconditioning for at least the temporary use of tenants badly in need of accommodation. Another matter for examination is the question of the adoption of new methods of building to supplement traditional methods. This examination will, I am sure, be conducted in the most objective manner by the representatives of all the interests concerned. These interests are fairly fully represented on the consultative council.
In regard to housing finance, the Minister for Finance stated in his Budget speech that while there was a general need for retrenchment in capital expenditure, such retrenchment would not apply to housing. The Local Loans Fund is already available for meeting the capital needs of most local authorities in respect of housing. Any local authority which can provide for its capital requirements by borrowing from sources other than the Local Loans Fund may, of course, obtain their loans from other lending agencies or by the issue of stock. The rate of interest on loans from the Local Loans Fund was recently raised from 2½ to 3¼ per cent., but, as intimated by the Minister for Finance, it is intended to alleviate the adverse effect that this would have on the housing finances of local authorities. This may be achieved by adjustments in the amounts of the Transition Development Fund grants or in the limits on the capital expenditure per house on which subsidy will be payable, or partly in one way and partly in the other, so that local authorities will be left in as favourable a position as hitherto in regard to their net liability for repayment of housing loans.
Local authorities have been empowered to make advances to persons providing houses for themselves up to a market value limit of £1,750. Representations have been made to me that this limit is too low. I am considering these representations at present, subject, however, to the overriding consideration that a position is maintained whereby the funds available for this type of transaction shall be restricted to that class of borrower who is most in need of housing accommodation within certain minimum standards.
I have said that the local authority housing programme contemplates the provision of some 60,000 houses. It was estimated some years ago that the total needs of the country for new housing accommodation was 100,000. The balance of 40,000 will be provided by private enterprise and the grants made available on the scales provided for in the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1948, will be the State's contribution towards this private persons' programme. That programme is intended to dovetail into the local authority programme: in those rural areas where the population consists mainly of small farmers rather than agricultural labourers the predominant building activity will be that which qualifies for grants for private persons' houses. In other areas where the portion of the population eligible for labourers' cottages is more numerous the local authorities' labourers Acts programme will predominate.
The planning and execution of housing schemes are affected by various matters arising out of planning control and the provision of water supplies, sanitation, roads and other services. In so far as these matters facilitate development they are available to enhance the amenities of the houses, and they will, of course, be utilised, but I wish to put on record my conviction that the time is not opportune for setting standards too high in these respects. To get the houses built must be our main and primary objective and if the ancillary services are not immediately available we must go ahead without them.
My predecessor set up a committee on piped water supplies so as to ascertain the practicability of providing water on a regional basis in rural areas. This was a rather difficult matter for a committee to examine in a deliberate way. Although there were engineering experts appointed on the committee they could not, of course, be expected to get down to particular schemes in the manner in which they would tackle them if they had professional responsibility for their design. Actually the problem is not of a general nature but one involving ad hoc examination, surveys, planning, etc., in each particular case. At the same time the existence of the committee was, I found, tending to induce local authorities to defer the formulation of schemes in areas which they might anticipate would form portion of a wider area for which the committee might be planning. As housing schemes for many of these areas are urgent and in various instances include provision for sanitary services in the houses, the carrying out of housing schemes could not be allowed to be deferred until the long-term programme of the piped water supply committee had been formulated, recommended and subsequently implemented. I therefore decided that in all the circumstances it would be best to put an end to the investigations of the committee and I have communicated with the members accordingly.
I turn now to actual achievements during the 12 months which ended in March last. Houses completed by local authorities in the year ended 31st March, 1948, totalled 729, as compared with 619 in the previous year. This is a point of some significance in spite of the, as yet, extremely inadequate output indicated. It is the first time since 1941 that the returns for annual output of housing authorities have shown an increase. The figures for houses under construction have maintained their upward trend. On the 31st March last the number of local authority houses in course of erection was 3,812; on the corresponding date in 1947 it was 2,212.
With output at present levels it is obvious that, if rapid improvement does not take place, it will be a very considerable time before the housing programme is realised. I am confident, however, now that the downward trend in production has been checked, that improvement will go ahead at an accelerating rate.
Building costs continue at a high level and tend to increase further. In urban areas building costs since the beginning of this year have ranged from £1,040 for a house of 672 square feet in Dublin to £1,628 for a house of 821 square feet in a small urban district. This represents an average of roughly 30/- per square foot in Dublin and about 40/- per square foot in the urban district. In Dublin County construction figures (including site development) for a two-storey house of 798 square feet with water and sewer services work out at over £1,660, or more than £2 per square foot. In Wexford, on the other hand, a 614 square feet single-storey cottage without services is being built at prices varying between £600 and £660.
These costs, even with an appropriate increase in the rents, would mean a crushing burden on the finances of local authorities if special financial arrangements to tide housing authorities over the transition period had not been made. The time for the abandonment of these transition arrangements has not yet arrived, but we must inevitably arrive at a point where the new pattern of building costs, whatever it may be, must be faced up to, and I have this aspect of the matter under examination.
Grants from the Transition Development Fund continue to be paid, the aim being to keep both the rents and the housing authority's contribution within reasonable limits. During the year which ended in March last a total of £408,359 was paid out to housing authorities in respect of 1,751 dwellings.
An item of £4,000 appears in the Estimates for expenses connected with competitions to be held by selected housing authorities in the layout of sites and design of houses and cottages. It is important that local schemes should be well laid out and the houses suitably designed. These competitions should help to stimulate local interest in sound and tasteful design and layout. The committee set up to supervise the conduct of the competitions is proceeding with the arrangements and their findings will no doubt raise the standard of future housing, but, of course, in the meantime housing must proceed on the basis of the best designs at present available.
The number of houses being built and reconstructed by private persons, public utility societies and other private agencies with the aid of State grants also shows an increase over last year. The total for the year 1947-48 was 1,350, of which 773 were new houses and 574 reconstructed houses. The corresponding figure for 1946-47 was 1,146, of which 456 represented new building and 690 reconstructions. The increase was, it will be observed, attributable entirely to new building. The number of reconstructions completed during the year actually declined. The number of houses of these classes in course of erection on 31st March last was 1,983, as compared with 1,394 on the same date last year. The number of reconstructions in progress was exactly equal to the number of new houses, viz., 1,983. The corresponding number last year was 1,932.
Provision has been made in the Estimates for the payment of private grants under the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1948. I should point out that in the citation of the Housing Acts in subheads 12 and 13 (Parts II and III of the Estimate) the year "1947" should, of course, read "1948." When the Estimates were being made out it was expected that the Housing (Amendment) Bill, 1947, would have become law within the calendar year 1947. It was actually signed by the President on the 13th January of this year. The reference to Sections 15, 16, 17 and 21 of the Act in Sub-head 13 (Page III of the Estimate) should read Sections 16 to 21, inclusive, to allow for amendments inserted in the Bill during its later stages.
The grants payable under the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1948, are considerably larger than those provided for under the old legislation. They are designed primarily to assist white-collar workers, tradesmen, small farmers and others in what might be called the intermediate economic category to get houses built for their own occupation, or to secure houses for rent. There is, however, no means test in connection with the grants; they are merely confined to houses with floor area limits of 500 and 1,250 square feet. Arrangements have also been made for giving second priority—first preference goes, of course, to local authority housing—to grant houses in the issue of building licences by the Minister for Industry and Commerce. I am confident that this scheme of assistance will be of considerable benefit to a section of the community whose housing difficulties are, in their way, as acute as those of workers who depend on housing authorities to provide them with accommodation.
The Housing (Amendment) Act, 1948, also provides for making special grants to housing authorities who provide what are called reserved houses. These houses are intended for persons recently married or about to marry. The scheme is confined to county boroughs, boroughs and other urban districts whose population exceeds 12,000. Regulations under the Act will provide for the preparation by these housing authorities of schemes for the provision of reserved houses and it is hoped to get a number of schemes under way this year.
Progress was made during the year with schemes for the provision of extra dwelling rooms for persons suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. The authorities whose duty it is to frame these schemes are the health authorities, that is county councils and the corporation of county boroughs. All 31 health authorities have now prepared and submitted schemes; 14 of these were approved during the year. The schemes provide for the construction of a total of over 2,000 rooms, huts or châlets. Health authorities may make grants towards the cost of the accommodation. Two-thirds of the grants, up to a limit of £100 per room may be recouped by the State. The average cost of providing the extra room, hut or châlet has worked out to date at £196. Progress on the scheme has been slow, but it is anticipated that during the current financial year the schemes will be availed of to a greater extent.
The number of allotments provided by local authorities in urban areas has been falling over the past number of years, owing to the slackening of demand for plots on the part of unemployed persons and others. The figure for the 1947 season was 10,083 as compared with over 20,000 in 1942. It is estimated, however, that the number of plots which will be taken and cultivated in the current year will be about the same as the figure for last year.
There was an increase in the Road Fund income in 1947/48 of about £500,000 as compared with the previous year. The increase was due partly to the increased number of vehicles licensed and partly to the increased rates of duty introduced in November last. The Road Fund income for the current year is estimated to be approximately the same as that for last year, namely, £2,000,000. The number of vehicles of all classes under licence in August, 1947, was 90,374, as compared with 76,552 in August, 1946.
The total amount of the grants notified to local authorities for road restoration and maintenance for the current year is about £3,450,000. Having regard to other commitments from preceding years and the draw on the Road Fund in respect of general taxation, a supplementary grant of £2,250,000 was required to meet current commitments. The allocation of this grant was decided on by the previous Administration, but the source from which it was to be allocated was left undetermined. Questions have been put to me as to the source from which it will be provided. I am not in a position to make a statement on this matter just now, but as soon as a decision has been reached a statement will be issued.
The Department continues to cooperate with the Garda Síochána in the institution of various measures in the interests of road safety. These include an exhibition at the Royal Dublin Society Shows, the display of road safety films in schools and cinemas, a Press advertising campaign conducted by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, and the issue of a booklet and leaflets to applicants for driving licences and for distribution otherwise. Two working mechanical models for testing the reactions of motor drivers have been acquired.
The committee on road surfacing in relation to animal-drawn traffic has completed its investigations and its report is in course of preparation.
As to rate collection, on the 31st March, 1948, the amount of warrants outstanding for the financial year then ending was 3.6 per cent. as compared with 5.5 per cent. the year before. The best collection was in Monaghan, where 99.6 per cent. of the rates were accounted for. The lowest was in Kerry at 88.2 per cent. The position in regard to the rate collection as a whole may be regarded as very satisfactory.
The amount of grants-in-aid of local taxation has increased considerably and the question of reducing county council overdrafts in the early part of the year by making earlier payments of grants from the Road Fund and from the agricultural grant is being considered. The total expenditure on local services in urban and rural areas and from grants as well as rates is now approaching the impressive total of about £20,000,000, of which about £9,000,000 will be met from grants.
The estimates of county councils show a rise of about £1,000,000 on the estimates for the preceding year. The increase is on the whole higher in respect of health and hospital services than for local government services. The net cost of the county councils' local government services is estimated to amount to somewhat less than £5,000,000 in 1948-49, while the estimated amount for health (including medical assistance) services is a little over £4,000,000. Of the total of £9,000,000 to be raised by county councils about £3,750,000 or 42 per cent. is being provided by the State by way of the agricultural grant. In addition, the special grants in aid of various services supplement the expenditure from rates.
The rates leviable in many of the urban areas have shown an upward tendency and in some instances the figure is now in excess of 30/- in the £. Further increases in capital and revenue expenditure will be found necessary in many urban areas in respect of housing and other schemes. These schemes cannot, in the interests of the community, be deferred, and when carried out will conduce to the real wealth and welfare of the local community. They will in due course involve increases in local valuations and thereby assist in widening the present incidence of local taxation. Another important factor contributing to the increase in local expenditure is the general increase in salaries and wages which has taken place since the revised scales of salaries for the various local officers were introduced as from the end of 1946 and with the increases in employees' wages following on the increase accorded to agricultural labourers.
The Public Libraries Act, 1948, provided for the establishment of a Library Council which has been constituted on the nomination of the bodies set out in the Act with a chairman appointed by me after consultation with the Minister for Education. I have every confidence that the new council will get to work energetically on the improvement of the library services in co-operation with the local library authorities in the manner contemplated in the Act.
The Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1948, became law on the 14th January last. Local authorities have been advised of the principal provisions of the Act. The adoption of Part III of the Act to provide for the superannuation of established servants is at present under consideration by local authorities generally.
The Town and Regional Planning Acts are now in operation in 47 of the 62 urban and municipal districts and in 17 of the 27 county health districts. Sketch development plans have been completed in respect of 22 planning districts and are in course of preparation for 20 other districts. During the past year 197 appeals were submitted to the Minister. In 53 per cent. of the decided cases the decisions of the local authorities were confirmed.
The progress made by local authorities in 1946-47 in the preparation of water supply and sewerage schemes which had to be deferred during the war years was well maintained during the year 1947-48. The major schemes initiated during the year involve an expenditure of £340,000 of which a sum of about £120,000 is being met by way of grant, the remaining portion of the cost being defrayed by the local authorities, generally by way of loan.
Loans for housing amounted to about £1,000,000 in the year as against £127,000 the previous year. There was an increase in the amount borrowed for other purposes of £94,490 as compared with the previous year. The principal increases occurred under the heading of expenditure, on hospitals and water supply schemes and roads.
The distribution of air-raid precautions fire-fighting appliances to local authorities was completed during the year. An experienced officer with engineering qualifications has been recruited to advise the Minister in connection with all matters arising in the administration of the Fire Brigades Act and to act as inspector of fire brigades throughout the country and advise on the formation and organisation of fire-fighting services.
Conditions remain far from normal in regard to the operation of the combined purchasing system, notwithstanding that certain controls and emergency provisions have been removed or revoked. Special difficulty was experienced in securing the minimum requirements of local authorities in such things as linseed oil, white and red lead, brushes, solder, as well as goods manufactured from iron, steel and other metals. In consequence the strict terms of the contract had frequently to be modified both in regard to the period of delivery and the acceptance of substitutes. The present rise in prices affecting an increasingly wide range of goods has also been disquieting. Some of the increases claimed amounted to from 50 per cent. to 100 per cent. on the prices prevailing in the previous year. On the other hand, the official list for the current year contains many items which have not appeared since the commencement of the emergency, and it is hoped that further additions will be possible next year.
I do not wish to offer any detailed comments on the general system of local administration at this stage, save to say that I am convinced of the necessity for restoring to the elected bodies a larger element of real and effective control of their own affairs. My intentions in this matter will, however, involve the introduction of legislation, and accordingly I do not propose to develop the subject any further on this occasion.
