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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 26 Jun 1958

Vol. 169 No. 6

Agriculture (Amendment) Bill, 1958—From the Seanad.

The Dáil went into Committee to consider an amendment from the Seanad.

I am very anxious to accommodate the Minister but, as far as I know, this amendment was circulated only this morning. Is that not so?

So far as this House is concerned, yes.

May I suggest that on a previous occasion I seem to remember asking for accommodation from the Opposition, when I was in the present Minister's place, and the Tánaiste said that he was concerned to vindicate a very important matter of parliamentary procedure——

The suggestion that this would be taken after Questions came from the other side of the House.

I want to put it on record that I am not actuated by the same motive as the Tánaiste had then and I am prepared to take the matter now.

We understood that the amendment looked rather simple but to clear up any doubts or fears perhaps the amendment could be explained to us.

As this Government will not be in office very much longer——

We might as well be kind to them.

I move that the Committee agree with the Seanad in the following amendment:—

SECTION 5.

A new sub-section added as follows:

(2) Where the repayment of money borrowed under this section by a committee of agriculture is to be spread over a term of years, the committee may borrow the money on the security of the contributions under Section 2 of this Act to the committee and may charge those contributions with payment of the principal money so borrowed and the interest thereon.

At present county councils are empowered by the Agriculture Act of 1931 to botrow on behalf of county committees of agriculture. The Bill provides that county committees of agriculture will become bodies corporate, with powers to acquire or sell property and to borrow. Long term borrowing especially could necessitate the offer of security and the present amendment will enable committees to offer their contributions from county councils as security for any long term borrowing they may need to undertake, and which is approved by the Minister for Agriculture. While I do not anticipate that the committees will need to avail themselves to any great extent of the power to borrow on a long term basis, I feel it well to provide for such a contingency. Other local bodies such as vocational education committees and county councils are similarly authorised.

There seems to be no good reason for pressing for differerit rights for county committees of agriculturP from those ef vocational education committees and therefore I have no objection to the amendment.

Question put and agreed to.
Amendment reported and agreed to.
Ordered: That a message be sent to the Seanad accordingly.
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