asked the Minister for Defence whether he is aware that there is grave disappointment in the Swords district over the decision to charge £10 per night for the letting of the Sluagh Hall there, an increase of 100 per cent. on the 1947 charge; and, if so, whether he is prepared to have the charge reduced.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sword Hall Lettings.
I am not aware that there is grave disappointment in the Swords district over the charges being made for the use of the Sluagh Hall. The fee of £5 previously charged for the use of Slaugh Halls for dances was fixed early in 1940. Having regard to the increased costs of building and maintenance and the fees charged for privately owned halls, revised fees of £7 10s. 0d. for dances up to midnight and £10 for dances continuing after midnight were fixed in September, 1948, for all Sluagh Halls throughout the country. These charges are considered reasonable and I do not propose to reduce them.
Is the Minister aware that insurance has to be paid by the clubs which enagage the hall and that only the bare walls of the hall are available in a rural district such as Swords where there are a number of small clubs? In view of the Minister's statements, and those of his colleagues, that the Government would reduce the cost of living by 30 per cent., is he aware that in this instance he is increasing it by 100 per cent. by charging £10 for the hire of the Sluagh Hall in Swords? I do not think that in fair.
Apart altogether from the question of increasing or reducing the cost of living by stimulating the attendance at dances, it is a decided policy of the Government of this country, present and past, that these halls should not compete with the ordinary commercial ventures in the neighbourhood. It was as result of charges going up on privately owned halls, and representations being made to the Department to the effect that we were affecting them adversely, that the altered rates were arrived at.
It is very obvious in Swords——
Has the Deputy a question to ask?
Is the Minister aware that there is no hall in Swords and district except the Sluagh Hall? Judging by the Minister's reply it would seem that some vested interests, apparently not in Swords, must have appealed to him in this connection.
The charge for this hall for a dance is £10. For other purposes it is £3 3s. Od., and for lectures it is as low as 10/-. The rate here is applicable throughout the whole of Ireland for such halls.
Is the Minister——
Question No. 14.