Vol. 191 No. 9
I move:
That a sum not exceeding £145,970 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1962, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Valuation Office, the Ordnance Survey and certain Minor Services.
In relation to the Valuation Office we have another classic example of inordinate delay and of a system which causes serious inconvenience. There are times during the year when members of the legal profession and of the general public resort to the Valuation Office for the purpose of getting an urgent certificate of valuation. They are given the rather casual excuse: "You will not get that for some time because the valuation books are out." That is not good enough in a public service. It should be possible to keep duplicate records. It should be possible for any Government agency to furnish a certificate of valuation on demand and to furnish them at all times with greater speed than they are at present furnished.
I appreciate that, if a special case is made, the officials of the Valuation Office most courteously make the certificate available in time, but it should not be necessary to have to make a special case for the production of a certificate or some record document. It should be possible in this modern age of photographic equipment and electrical duplication methods to provide valuation certificates within 24 hours. I hope something will be done to speed up the issue of all certificates to avoid any inconvenience that might arise in future by offering the excuse that the delay is due to the valuation books being revised. I cannot understand why duplicate records cannot be kept.
Would the Minister be prepared to consider social halls, community centres and so on throughout the country that must depend on mere subscriptions of members for their upkeep?
That does not arise on this Vote.
If you will bear with me for a moment, you will see that it does.
The Deputy would have transgressed by then. It does not arise on this Vote which purely concerns the Valuation Office.
I shall deal with it on the next Vote. I shall keep my powder dry and reserve it for the Taoiseach's Estimate.
I confess that I am not able to reply to Deputy Ryan as regards the delay but I shall see what can be done about it.
