asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware that at a meeting of the Kerry County Council on 14th January, 1952, a member of a deputation received by the said council stated, in connection with arterial drainage, that when a priority list was compiled by the Office of Public Works the Brosna was given first place, the Glyde and Dee second, the Feale third, the Maine fourth, the Corrib fifth and the Moy sixth and that he had seen the list in the Office of Public Works; whether in the circumstances he will now give the list as compiled and make a full statement concerning all matters relating to the Maine drainage proposal.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - River Maine Drainage.
I have seen a Press report of the statement referred to. As has been explained on several occasions, both by myself and by my predecessor Deputy Beegan, there is not, and never has been, any rigid schedule of the order in which catchment areas are to be dealt with under the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945. It was necessary for planning purposes when the Act came into force to draw up a programme of work but that was expressly regarded as provisional and subject to review as circumstances required. That provisional programme was not made public then or since and it is not proposed to publish it now.
As I indicated here last week in reply to Deputy Finucane's question, the preparation of a scheme for the Maine catchment is now well under way. There will be no avoidable delay in completing it.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary admit or not admit that the answer is that the Corrib drainage scheme will unduly delay the carrying out of the Maine drainage scheme?
That is some of the nonsense that is carried on down in Kerry.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary now give an assurance that this long delayed scheme of drainage will be carried out in 1956, when all the necessary formalities have been carried through, or even earlier than 1956?
The Suck comes before it.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary give that assurance?
What about Deputy Jack Flynn?
Will the Parliamentary Secretary at least do his part, in so far as he can, in accomplishing what the previous Parliamentary Secretary and the previous Government arranged for, namely, a survey? If the present Parliamentary Secretary can go one better and complete what the previous Parliamentary Secretary started we shall be very grateful in the County Kerry.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware of the fact that a gentleman made a statement which appeared in The Kerryman in January, 1952?
Quotations may not be made during question time.
He made the same statement last Sunday week at a special meeting called by the people affected by the Maine drainage scheme. His statement appears in The Kerryman.
The Deputy has been told that quotations may not be made during question time.
He was informed in the Board of Works that in the case of the Maine it had priority of the Corrib and he blamed the present Parliamentary Secretary when he became Parliamentary Secretary in 1948 for this.
All the Kerry Deputies are making speeches instead of asking questions.
Is that right or wrong?
In reply to Deputy Palmer, I want to say that I believe that within two years we will be able to start operations on the scheme. As regards all the Kerry Deputies, I wish to make it clear to the House and to the people of Kerry that the Deputies from Kerry should be very grateful that at the moment we are carrying out a scheme there—it is one of the four that is in action in the country. The one in Kerry is for over £1,000,000 and there is another one that barely qualifies as a major catchment at all. The one there is so much talk about, the Maine, will, as I have said, be carried out within the next two years. I would appeal to the Kerry Deputies not to give any heed to the nonsense that goes on back around Killorglin.
We want to clear up matters.