asked the Minister for Lands if he will state the number of men in the Ballinlough forestry centre who have been laid off within the past few weeks, and if it is intended to re-employ the men concerned in the near future.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Roscommon Forestry Centre.
Three men were laid off at Ballinlough Forest recently because of shortage of work. Seventeen men are still employed at the centre.
I am not in a position to indicate if and when the men laid off will be reemployed; the labour position will, however, be kept under review during the coming months having regard to the availability of work at the forest.
Does the Minister seriously state that only three men have been laid off within the last three weeks in the Ballinlough centre?
That is all.
That is incorrect. I have the names of at least eight men laid off in the last three weeks in the Ballinlough area, and I understand that in the Cloonfad area, which is adjoining, two men were laid off last week.
My information is that three men were laid off.
I will give the names to the Minister.
Very good. I will be glad to investigate a thing like that.
In view of the fact that a number of men have been laid off what I can only describe as productive work, would the Minister now ensure that these and other men are employed on this type of productive work rather than on what he and Ministers of the Government have described as unproductive work in the form of relief schemes?
The position in Ballinlough Forest is that there is a plantable reserve there of only 121½ acres and it is proposed to plant 72 acres of that this season because there is no work for the men there.
In view of the fact that the particular men, whose names I will submit to the Minister immediately afterwards, are married men who have been employed for the last four years constantly on forestry, the Minister will realise that it is not in the national interest to lay these men off productive work at this time of the year.
The Minister has no desire to lay any men off if there is work available for them. That is not a pleasant duty for any Minister.
I do not say that it is.
When work terminates in a particular area or slows down it is no pleasure for any Minister to have to lay off the men. In this case my information is that 17 men are still employed out of the former 20 and three were laid off due to the fact that the plantable reserve there has dwindled. The Deputy knows the area as well as I do, or better. He knows that the prospect of the extension of forestry in Ballinlough is not very good simply because it is an island of fairly poorish land in the centre of an arable district.
Shortage of money is not the cause?
No, it is not shortage of money, unless the Deputy is pressing me to keep men in employment where there is no work for them.
I am pressing the Minister to give as much money as possible for forestry.