andMr. Kyne asked the Minister for Local Government the average period which elapses from the date of a public inquiry into an application by a local authority for a compulsory purchase order under the Housing Acts, particularly in cases which concern families living under unhealthy and unsuitable conditions, until the issue of a decision on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Applications for Compulsory Purchase Orders.
31.
The length of time necessary to examine the several aspects of a compulsory purchase order which require to be dealt with after the holding of a public local inquiry varies very considerably from case to case, depending mainly on the extent of the proposals and the complexity of the issues involved. It may, therefore, be misleading to give averages to represent the periods that elapse between the dates of inquiries and of decisions on Orders. Subject to this being clearly understood, I may say that in six Dublin cases dealt with in the years 1958 to 1961 the periods in question averaged nine months; if account is taken of one other case in the same period that took a long time to finalise, the average becomes twelve months. As regards the reference to cases which concern families living in unhealthy and unsuitable conditions, I would point out that the rehousing of such families may be undertaken by the Corporation irrespective of the making of a compulsory purchase order or of the time or nature of the Minister's decision on such order.