I move:
That a sum not exceeding £4,633,600 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, 1966, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Local Government, including Grants to Local Authorities, Grants and other expenses in connection with Housing and Miscellaneous Grants including a Grant-in-Aid.
The total estimate for my Department for the year 1965-66 is £7,821,700. The net increase on the provision made in the last financial year is £738,800. There is an increase of £240,000 in the contributions to loan charges on local authority housing and an increase of £150,000 in the corresponding provision for public water supply and sewerage schemes, swimming pools and other sanitary services loans. The provision for private housing, water supply and sewerage grants shows an increase of £385,000.
The total number of houses completed by local authorities during the year 1964-65 was 2,359. Although this represents a substantial increase it should be regarded only as a trend in the right direction. I look forward to a much greater increase in housing output in the present year. The outlook as regards work in progress and in tender is greatly improved. At the 31st March, 1965, over 6,000 houses were in progress or at tender stage. The value of tenders and direct labour estimates sanctioned during the last financial year also shows a substantial increase at £7.7 million as compared with £6.25 million in the previous financial year.
Last November, the White Paper on housing was laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and copies were circulated to public representatives throughout the country. The paper outlines the Government's proposals to replace all existing Housing Acts with a legislative code suitable to modern conditions and its wide circulation has resulted in our obtaining many useful suggestions which are being considered in the preparation of the Bill which is now in its final stages preparatory to introduction to this new Dáil. The paper also defines the level of house building which the Government have in mind within the context of the Second Programme for Economic Expansion.
The policy outlined in the White Paper aims at the assessment of housing needs on the basis of re-housing families in unfit and overcrowded conditions, and also providing against the deterioration of the existing housing stock and for growth in demand arising from increased family formation. This will involve a housing output of between 12,000 and 14,000 dwellings each year as indicated in the White Paper, which will require a vigorous, positive approach and the ready co-operation of all concerned. Many practical steps have already been taken by me to facilitate this expansion. I have greatly reduced the details which local authorities were required to submit to the Department before proceeding with schemes.
A detailed review of existing housing standards and procedure was put in hands. Pending completion of this review, existing standards which had been suggested to local authorities over a period of years were re-issued in a comprehensive memorandum designed to obviate delay and unnecessary correspondence in regard to the production of acceptable housing proposals. The first part of the review of housing standards has now been completed and I am having up-to-date and detailed guidance on the selection of housing sites and the procedure to be followed in the submission of housing proposals conveyed to housing authorities. The acquisition of suitable sites is a prerequisite to the provision of good housing.
In the past, complexities of site acquisition have caused delays in housing projects. Now, with firm guide lines for housing authorities available, I have decided that where proposals for site acquisition by agreement comply generally with the Department's recommendations it will no longer be necessary to submit them to me for prior approval. In future the final responsibility for selecting suitable sites will be placed on the local housing authorities.
Local officers will have to measure up fully to that responsibility. They will need to see to those requisites in site acquisition policy for which the Department's officers have heretofore taken responsibility. They must also have due regard to planning objectives in consultation with local planning officers. I also propose to issue to housing authorities revised instructions designed to reduce documentation of housing schemes to the essential minimum. As the review of housing standards and procedure develops, I shall give further guidance on similar lines in regard to open spaces, densities, layout, house plans and so on. I intend that these various recommendations will be co-ordinated later into a housing manual which will include sample plans for the layout of schemes and the design of houses.
With the majority of housing authorities the present increased housing output is based simply on individual applications for rehousing. Now, in anticipation of the proposed new housing legislation, they will have to make a fresh assessment of housing needs on a broad basis covering unfit houses, overcrowded families, obsolescence and growth of population. This assessment must be made quickly, on the basis of information already available to the local authority in their own records, in census figures and in consultation with local industrial and other interests.
Further detailed surveys would only entail delay. The immediate aim of the new assessment will be a reasonably firm figure on which both short and long-term programmes can be based. The short-term programme, to be carried out over a period of from three to five years, according to local circumstances, should be sufficient to eliminate all arrears of housing demand and cater for the expected growth of demand within the period of the programme.
The long-term programme should aim at keeping pace with growth of demand so as to ensure that there will be no new accumulation of unsatisfied housing requirements in future years. The advice and guidance of my Department will be freely available to housing authorities in assessing their needs and developing their programmes. I urge the maximum use of personal contact between departmental and local officers so as to eliminate unnecessary correspondence and any vestiges of bureaucratic inertia which may survive the really zealous efforts of those central and local teams, the most of whom I can testify to be dedicated to a great and worthy mission.
This vigorous new approach to the assessment of needs, acquisition of sites and planning of new programmes will not, however, of itself be sufficient to assure the projected annual output. There is some doubt as to the capacity of the building industry to meet the increased output by traditional methods and procedures. I have had this matter under close examination and I have initiated further measures including the introduction of system building at Ballymun, the invitation to building interests to submit details of new systems which might be used in speeding up housing programmes and the encouragement of local authorities to investigate the question of grouping needs so that large-scale or long-term contracts can be offered. Contractors will be thus encouraged to engage in local authority work and afforded an opportunity of adopting new systems or rationalised traditional methods. A large number of specific proposals have been received from building interests and detailed examination of these proposals is well advanced.
The rise in housing costs has continued and the general increase in wages, the introduction of the shorter working week and the additional benefits which were the subject of the agreement following the trades dispute last autumn will contribute to a degree which has not yet been fully felt. While every effort will be made by the various methods to which I have already referred to keep down these costs to a minimum, it is nonetheless clear that they will provide a serious problem for housing authorities generally in the financing of their housing schemes.
Nevertheless, they must face up to their obligation to rehouse families living in unfit housing in overcrowded conditions, and other categories in need of rehousing who cannot because of their circumstances provide houses for themselves. These people cannot be left in bad housing conditions because they cannot afford to pay the rents which would in the normal way result from the increased costs. A generous level of State assistance in the form of subsidy is already available and the level of this subsidy is under continuous review in relation to prevailing circumstances. The share of the burden which can be assumed by the taxpayer is, however, limited. Having regard to the increasing burden of rates all over the country, the share of the ratepayer must also be subject to limit.
The problem therefore of providing housing accommodation for the poorer families at rents which they can afford must be solved in the main by the adoption by housing authorities generally of rational rent policies. Very few authorities have yet made serious attempts in this direction. Some 60,000 houses were built by urban housing authorities prior to 1950. In the great majority of cases, the rents still current were fixed when the houses were built. In some cases, they are insufficient to meet present day costs of repair and maintenance, notwithstanding the fact that many of the occupiers are in very good financial circumstances.
A reasonable increase in the rental of these houses related to the ability of the tenant to pay would go a long way towards solving the financial problem of providing houses for the poorer families at rents they can afford. I stress this point because otherwise housing authorities will not be in a position to provide houses for such families, some of whom may not be in a position to pay any rent.
While concentrating on their primary responsibility of providing houses for families who cannot help themselves, housing authorities should not overlook the need to encourage as many people as possible to provide their own homes. Such people are also experiencing the impact of the serious increases in house building costs. Local authorities can help to reduce this impact by a vigorous and progressive policy in regard to the provision of developed sites for private housing.
I regret that, generally, housing authorities have so far failed to do this on anything like an adequate scale. They should not wait until a clamant demand forces them to act. They should institute orderly planned programmes in anticipation of demand. The amount of expenditure involved is very small in comparison with the cost of direct building by them. Families who seek developed sites from local authorities display initiative and self-reliance which is worthy of all the support the local authority can give. By providing such sites on a generous basis and supplementary grants to go with them in appropriate cases, housing authorities will in the long run be working to their own advantage.
An aspect of housing to which I have given special attention is the provision of adequate housing for small farmers. I hope that response to the new scheme under which the State pays a specially favourable rate of subsidy for the housing of farmers with valuations of £5 or less will result in a substantial reduction of unfit housing in rural areas. If enthusiastically operated by housing authorities, it will offer the prospect of a solution to a long-standing housing problem which was ignored in the past. Even if many of those concerned were unable or unwilling to take the initiative, there is an onus on the public authorities to create a new atmosphere now, in which these people will realise public policy stands for the elimination of unfit housing conditions in rural as well as urban areas.
Steady progress has been maintained by county councils generally during the year with the vesting of labourers cottages, over 72 per cent of which have been vested in the tenants. The percentage was less than 50 in only three areas. While most urban housing authorities have formulated schemes under which tenants may purchase their houses at attractive terms, the number purchasing is still rather low. This position is being reviewed in conjunction with the proposed new housing legislation.
It is estimated that total issues from the Local Loans Fund to local authorities for housing purposes in the year 1964-65 exceeded £11 million. The comparative figure for 1963-64 was just under £8 million. Over £3 million was issued from the Local Loans Fund for loans for house purchase, as compared with a little over £2¾ million in 1963-64. I referred last year to a welcome trend which has developed in the past few years towards increased borrowing from commercial sources by individuals who are providing their own houses. I am glad to say that in the year 1964 about £12 million was advanced by these commercial bodies for house purchase. It is gratifying to note that these agencies have financed by far the greater part of the increase in private housing output since 1962.
By this heavy investment, the building societies and insurance companies have assumed an important role in housing progress, and it is desirable that they maintain close liaison with my Department. Local authorities were notified during the year that it is open to them to raise a loan from an outside source for lending to persons with annual incomes over £1,040 for the provision of houses. A number of local authorities have, in fact, raised such loans, and it is expected that the facilities will be extended in the current financial year.
A total of 40 housing authorities have had schemes for the making of loans for reconstruction or repair of houses approved. This total comprises 24 county councils, three county boroughs and 13 urban district councils and borough corporations.
Housing loans sanctioned during 1964-65 for issue from sources other than the Local Loans Fund amounted to approximately £440,000. The loans were mainly for the purpose of financing repairs to cottages prior to vesting and for supplementary grants.
A concession was given to rural authorities during the year in regard to the application of the higher rate of subsidy for the rehousing of subtenants from council houses where the sub-tenancy was created before 1st June, 1964. This concession is intended to enable them to clear up any backlog of sub-tenancies giving rise to overcrowding in their houses and was given on the understanding that action would henceforth be taken to prevent the recurrence of further sub-lettings. The problem of sub-tenancies is referred to in the White Paper on Housing and it is the intention to review the whole field of policy in this matter in conjunction with the new housing legislation.
I have kept the housing position in Dublin city under constant review and close contact has been maintained with members of the City Council, and between officers of the Department and the Corporation. The most-up-to-date figures show that the Corporation have applications for rehousing on hands from over 8,200 people. Of these, 3,760 have been recommended by the medical officer for rehousing on statutory grounds. The number of additional cases in unfit houses and other dwellings being cleared at present by statutory operations of the housing authority is somewhat less than 500. A detailed survey of dangerous buildings has been carried out and it is estimated that approximately 3,500 families will be affected by dangerous building procedures, and by obsolescence, in the relatively near future. The rate of obsolescence in Dublin city is high and is related to the substantial number of dwellings in the city which were built over 100 years ago.
Last December, Dublin City Council decided to revert to normal priorities in the re-housing of families subject to certain conditions. Applications for re-housing have doubled since January last when a public announcement of the easement in the housing situation was made. Seventy per cent of the new applications were of the three-in-one-room category or less. The Corporation have 1,200 current housing applications from newly-weds. They recently resumed dealing with these cases. Because of the dangerous buildings emergency, there is still a substantial number of newly-weds from the 1963 list to be dealt with.
In the light of the foregoing, it is evident that the present housing needs of Dublin city amount, in round figures, to not less than 10,000 dwellings, with the prospect of a continued high level of building to meet additional needs, which will arise from further obsolescence and the natural growth in demand. The Corporation's programme, while geared to produce the maximum number of dwellings by conventional means as fast as practicable, still leaves a serious gap which is now being filled by the scheme at Ballymun. Apart from this project, the Corporation have some 1,800 dwellings in progress or at tender stage and have sites in course of development or ready to be developed for another 2,100 dwellings. In addition, sites are being cleared which will accommodate some 500 flat dwellings. There has been a substantial improvement recently in the number of completions. New dwelling completions last year totalled 791 not counting the 175 chalet caravans provided as temporary accommodation for the one and two-person families displaced from dangerous buildings. It is estimated that up to 2,000 dwellings will be available in the current year for re-housing. I am glad to note that the Corporation are taking positive steps also to deal with the demand for developed sites and for tenant-purchase houses.
I have also had the general housing position in Cork, Limerick and Waterford cities under review during the year and have visited Cork and Limerick for discussions with the city councils. An expanded programme of housing activity is required in all three areas to eliminate the persistent backlog of needs. I have asked these authorities to proceed on the basis of the broad assessment of housing needs to which I have already referred, and to prepare expanded programmes designed to eliminate arrears and to make provision for expected growth in housing demand. I made it clear to the councils concerned that if traditional methods were not sufficient to enable them to eliminate the whole of the backlog with the expedition which this objective warrants and if they gave me particulars of the amount of arrears which they were unable thus to tackle, I would be prepared to advise them about special methods to deal with any such surplus above their own capacity to undertake, provided one or more such authorities had a demand in this category of 2,000 or more dwellings.
I have already indicated the housing position in Dublin which moved me early in 1964 to discuss with the Corporation its housing programme over the years to 1970. From these discussions, it emerged that a radical departure from the normal procedure of initiating housing schemes was justified by the urgency of the situation. I reached agreement with the city representatives on a new procedure under which I, as Minister for Local Government, would take the initiative.
On the 1st July, 1964, the city council by resolution asked me to arrange, through an agency to be nominated by me, for the provision of 3,000 dwellings on lands which, through negotiations initiated by me, had become available from the authorities of University College, Dublin. It was emphasised that these 3,000 dwellings were in addition to the maximum potential of the expanding programme which the Corporation had then undertaken, and is now pursuing, through the normal contracting and building procedures.
In initiating this project, we set before us certain well defined priorities. We wanted a large volume of housing constructed to acceptable standards and to acceptable costs within a relatively short period, a high standard of planning, including play spaces, car parking and landscaping, so as to achieve the optimum integration of this new residential area with the existing city. We wanted planning to have shops, schools and other amenities also provided pari passu with the establishment of the new community. We saw that new building methods were needed so as not to interfere with the existing structure of the industry by increasing the pressure on and competition for labour otherwise engaged on the expansion of housing output.
The response of building interests to the advertisements we issued was immediate, widespread and imaginative. I authorised the National Building Agency, Ltd., with the approval of the Government, to enter into and to manage this contract and the Agency has been augmented by engaging, for the period of the contract, the services of leading Dublin professional consultants.
Since the housing contract was signed on 2nd February, there has been continuous activity on planning, design and organisation. The association, at contract stage of the processes of planning, design and construction will enable the project to get under way with the minimum of delay. The factory for the flat units has commenced simultaneously with site works. The development of such a large site is a formidable task but the first area will be ready to enable housing to commence within a few months. The programming calls for an increase in the rate of production to 1,000 units next year. This output will be a worthwhile supplement to the Corporation's own expanding programme in the years immediately ahead.
The increase in the amount provided for private housing water supply and sewerage grants is necessitated by the high level of demand for these grants. Allocations of all grants in 1964-65 reached the new record level of 27,960, which represents an increase of about 13 per cent on the figure for 1963-64. Allocations of new house grants at 7,868 exceeded all previous figures and the indications are that we are well on the way to the achievement in the private sector of the output of new houses forecast in the White Paper and in the Second Programme for Economic Expansion. The special increased rates of new house grants for farmers and certain other classes in rural areas are being widely availed of and it seems clear that these grants will make a substantial improvement in the housing conditions of the rural community. Since the scheme was put in hands at the end of 1963, the total number of new grants in this category allocated up to the end of March last was 758. In addition, many normal new house grants, which though made some years ago were not availed of on account of financial difficulties, are now being revised upwards to the new levels to enable the applicants to go ahead with their plans. Up to March last there were 393 such revisions bringing the total number in this group to over 1,100 new houses,
The less spectacular, though equally useful, work of reconstruction and conservation of the existing stock of housing continues at the steady rate of about 12,000 grant cases a year. The total number of grants for private water supply and sewerage facilities for 1964-65 was 8,397 which is more than double the figure for two years ago. Steady progress is being made all over the country in the development and execution of co-operative group water supply schemes.
Interest in the grants available for the provision of accommodation for the housing of elderly persons is developing steadily. The most significant move during the past year was made by a number of conferences of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul who have embarked on the provision of dwellings in this field. The State and local authority grants aggregating up to £600 per unit are also encouraging various other philanthropic bodies to take a hand in the solving of this problem of elderly persons. This is work in which the local authorities could also usefully engage to a greater extent than they are doing at present.
I am glad to report steady progress in the past year in the drive for the provision and improvement by local authorities of public water supply and sewerage schemes. On the 31st March, 1965, 242 schemes, comprising 162 water supply and 80 sewerage schemes, were in progress at an estimated aggregate value of £9.75 million, as compared with schemes costing £7.32 million in progress in March, 1964. Continued progress is assured by the volume of works at the various stages of planning which shows £8.67 million worth of schemes at the tender stage with another £12.85 million at contract document stage and schemes to the value of £1.3 million are scheduled to start at an early date. The volume of schemes at the various preliminary stages will ensure the consistent maintenance of optimum rates of progress.
Issues from the Local Loans Fund for the year 1964-65 were £3.1 million as compared with £2.5 million in the previous year. The importance of adequate supplies of pure water to the home, to agriculture, to industry and to tourism is being increasingly recognised. It is not enough, however, to plan and provide these schemes as efficiently as possible. We must also see to it that the schemes when provided are properly maintained and operated and we must, on the national plane, ensure that our vital water resources are conserved to meet the ever increasing demands and protected from the ever-growing danger of pollution.
During the year it was my pleasure to appoint a National Committee for Ireland for the purposes of UNESCO's Hydrological Decade, 1965 to 1975. The Committee comprises representatives of various Departments, semi-State bodies and the Universities. The overall objectives of the programme are to accelerate the study of water resources, to make known the need for hydrological research and education in all countries and to improve each country's ability to evaluate its resources and use them to the best advantage. While the main focus of the programme will be scientific, considerable emphasis will be given to utilitarian factors.
I have been very much concerned at the high annual toll of young lives from drowning and in order to bring home to the public, particularly to parents, the vital urgency of proper training in the art of life saving I have sponsored a 15-minute colour film on Water Safety. The premiére of the film was held recently and it will be shown in public cinemas commencing from the end of this month. Sixteen-millimetre copies will also be available for showing by voluntary groups who are interested. Cautionary publicity of this kind is useful and will be continued but the real answer to the danger of death in the water is the provision of an adequate number of swimming pools. In order to overcome the major financial objections to accepted ideas of pool design, I recently arranged for the invitation of tenders for a prototype pool or approved variations thereon. The plan provides for a covered and heated pool with all the basic elements, without any frills, and the structure is so designed that extra amenities may be added at additional cost. Tenders are at present being examined and I hope that it will emerge that these pools can be provided at an average cost of about £16,000. This will give the people and, in particular, the young people, safe places in which to bathe and, more important still, to learn to swim.
Following decisions taken by the Government last October on the principal recommendations of the Commission on Itinerancy, local authorities have been asked to provide camping sites with the aid of State subsidy. Complex social issues are involved in tackling the itinerant problem, but it is evident that special measures are needed to rehabilitate this section of the community. I have recently appointed an advisory committee to advise on these measures. I would earnestly appeal to all Deputies to lend their support to the steps being taken which are designed to secure the integration of itinerants into the community.
Measurements of air pollution continued in six areas throughout the country and the stage has now been reached where there are 45 sets of apparatus in 32 stations involving three different measuring techniques. In order to strengthen existing controls on emissions of noxious or offensive gases from certain industrialised works, the preparation of interim regulations under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1962, is proceeding, with a view to the imposition of control on the emission of dark smoke from premises other than private dwelling-houses and the regulation of nuisance arising from industrial air pollution.
I am still concerned at the number of fires which result in loss of life and which, in the majority of cases, could have been prevented by the observance of proper fire precautions. Up-to-date surveys of potentially dangerous buildings are being made by fire brigade authorities in their areas. The draft code of standards recommended by the Fire Standards Committee has been under examination by the State Departments concerned and by the Chief Fire Officers of local authorities. When these have been considered I shall have a revised set of standards issued. My Department is preparing a set of fire standards specifically for hotels and these will also be published. I would bespeak the co-operation of the general public in preventing loss of life and property through fire. A serious responsibility rests on those in charge of buildings which house large numbers of people, particularly the young, the sick, the aged and the infirm. Local fire brigade authorities will be more than willing to give advice as to how regular fire and evacuation drills in such buildings should be carried out and also as to what other precautions should be taken.
As a result of discussions between my Department and the Fire Offices Committee of the insurance companies operating in this country, I have now set up a body linked with my Department to be known as the Fire Protection Association of Ireland to deal with the dissemination of propaganda in regard to fire prevention and control.
In many places there is a lack of public sanitary conveniences and in others the condition of existing conveniences is unsatisfactory. The lack, or the inadequacy, of such facilities is experienced not only at beaches, recreation grounds or places of scenic attraction, but also in country towns, particularly on bus routes which have considerable through traffic. I have once again drawn the attention of sanitary authorities to the need for providing adequate facilities and improving the standard of cleanliness of their existing conveniences. Financial assistance in the form of subsidy towards annual loan charges on borrowing to meet the cost of providing conveniences is available to local authorities from my Department. I would urge local authorities to give this matter serious consideration.
I am disappointed at the failure of some local authorities to respond to my request to take immediate protective action in regard to quarries in their areas which are known to be dangerous. The enabling legislation in this matter was promoted in response to what seemed a general and urgent demand. I hope that the poor response of some local authorities may be due merely to the fact that they did not have sufficient opportunity to provide in their estimates for the year 1964-65 for meeting their share of the cost of protective works. Financial assistance is available to local authorities from my Department in the form of grants at the rate of 50 per cent of the cost of approved works. The maximum of 50 per cent is subject to review in appropriate cases where special difficulties arise. Now that they have had ample notice of the scheme, I would urge local authorities to use their powers under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964, to deal with dangerous places in their areas.
As a major step in the modernising of our road system, I had a study made by my Department, with the help of the principal road authorities, of the more important of the country's main roads, and a few weeks ago I was able to announce to county councils that a number of the principal routes linking all parts of the country by a major network of approximately 1,500 miles had been designated as arterial routes to which an urgent programme of improvement is to be related over the remainder of the term of the Second Programme for Economic Expansion.
My Department is at present engaged in the preparation of details of the financial programme involved over this period, but in the meantime each county council has been allocated a substantial sum to be applied to work of improvement on these roads in the current year, an amount which in the aggregate is roughly 25 per cent higher than that of the previous year. Some local authorities may feel that there are other roads in their areas which merit a high classification in the national system, but the current designation of the arterial routes is only the first step in the reclassification of the whole road system, which I forecast last year. There are several roads of considerable local importance which, although they could not be fitted into this network, may be included in the next highest category of road which we shall soon be in the process of reclassifying.
Apart from the provision for arterial roads, the main feature of the Road Fund grants to local authorities for the current financial year is a minimum increase of ten per cent as compared with last year in the main road improvement grants, the improvement grants to the county boroughs and Dún Laoghaire, and the improvement grants to the other urban authorities. It was also possible to make an increase of ten per cent in the grant for county road improvement in the areas where the half-way stage has not yet been reached with the surfacing of county roads, and to make compensating adjustments in other areas.
On the subject of motor taxation, we are all familiar with the situation that arises at the end of each year when everyone sends in his application to the local motor taxation office for renewal of the licensing of his vehicle. The result is that the offices are under severe pressure, and everybody is held up. I am making arrangements, therefore, whereby, from a date which I shall announce later, but which I hope will be within the next 12 months, it will be possible to license a vehicle for any period of 12 calendar months rather than just the calendar year as at present.
At the same time, I am taking the opportunity to make some ancillary and desirable changes in the licensing arrangements. The principal of these relates to licences for the calendar quarter or shorter period. These short-period licences are necessarily subject to an additional charge, or surcharge, over and above the rate applicable to a full 12 months licence, to cover the extra administrative expenses involved by these arrangements, and loss of income to the Road Fund. This surcharge rate has stood at 20 per cent for over 40 years, and it has been the subject of criticism from time to time, and I am satisfied that it is too high. In conjunction with the new arrangements, therefore, I have decided that the surcharge rate should be reduced to 10 per cent so that after the commencement date for these arrangements, persons who find it necessary to license their vehicles for the shorter periods will benefit by an appreciable saving on the present rate.
Last year I referred to the increasing road safety and traffic movement problems created by the increase in motor traffic, and I outlined the work which my Department had in hands to deal with them. Motor traffic continues to increase, and I intend that my Department will face up to the challenges posed by this inevitable accompaniment to economic expansion and increased prosperity. The process of implementing the Road Traffic Act, 1961, by way of regulations and bye-laws continued. Three sets of regulations, one dealing with public service vehicle control, one dealing with the keeping of petroleum for motor vehicles and one dealing with road signs, were made, and I gave my consent to the Road Traffic General Bye-Laws, which set out the rules of the road, and to ten sets of local traffic and parking bye-laws and rules. Further regulations, relating to the fitting of anchorages for safety belts and the numbering of trailers, have just been made and work is proceeding on the preparation of other regulations—one set relating to the amendment of the Traffic Signs Regulations, and one to the amendment of the speed limit regulations in respect of the most heavily trafficked routes. I hope to make the two sets of regulations in the very near future.
An agreement was signed with the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland providing for the extension of their liability to injury to passengers in certain cases. Other aspects of what I may call the day-to-day work of the Department included the approval of ten off-street car parks, provided with the aid of grants from the Road Fund and the Employment and Emergency Schemes Vote, and a number of sets of traffic lights and pedestrian lights.
The traffic signs regulations made in 1964 provided for the introduction of the double-white line system at bends and summits on the most heavily-trafficked routes. This is an important innovation. Coupled with it is a scheme for marking the centres of the full lengths of all such routes; I am sure that when completed it will assist drivers considerably, particularly at night, and help to reduce accidents.
Local authorities were asked to review the system of stop signs on heavily-trafficked routes, to weigh the necessity for them, if necessary to remove that necessity by improving visibility at the junction, and to see where they must be retained, that they are properly located. With the coming into force of the General Bye-Laws, doubts about the legal force of these signs are removed and I trust that they, too, will play their part in reducing accidents.
Representatives of my Department, the Garda and Dublin Corporation, work together as a team on Dublin traffic problems. The one-way streets have undoubtedly improved traffic flow in the central city area. Some further extensions have been introduced fairly recently. When the operation of these has been fully assessed and the temporary rules have been incorporated in bye-laws, the way will then be open to institute a series of systems of pedestrian crossings which could not have been done during the experimental period.
During the year, the Department continued with the production of leaflets and films on road safety education and continued to assist financially and to work closely with the Safety First Association of Ireland. Liaison was also maintained with other voluntary bodies and with Telefís Éireann and cinema managements. The Department also participated in the work of an inter-departmental committee established by the Minister for Education to prepare a programme of road safety instruction for use in the schools, which, I understand, it is hoped to have introduced in the new school year. This is one of the most important steps that can be taken in road safety; it is our earnest hope that it will be reflected in future generations of road users who will know how to protect themselves and save the lives of others.
The major effort in road safety during the year 1964/65 was the December road safety campaign. I was greatly heartened by the enthusiasm displayed by all participants and their willing and generous co-operation. One had only to attend the symposium or any of the many local functions to appreciate this. The campaign highlighted in particular the emergence in very many areas of a sense of community involvement. This work will, of course, continue. We are already planning a large-scale national campaign for next December. At Whit I propose to conduct an interim campaign, mainly at local level. I have already sought and been given the promise of wholehearted support from the local authorities.
I hope soon to be in a position to introduce proposals for further Road Traffic legislation to deal with such important matters as the problem of drink and driving.
Applications for driving tests have been coming in at an ever-increasing rate since the scheme was introduced a year ago. Figures of provisional licences issued to learner drivers indicate that the scope of operations under the scheme will expand rapidly and arrangements for the recruitment of the staff necessary to handle the increased numbers of tests are well advanced.
More than 5,000 tests have been carried out. The test is related to the normal driving manoeuvres which the average motorist would expect to carry out in his every-day driving and a knowledge of the Rules of the Road, yet the rate of failures in the test has reached nearly 40 per cent. Proper driving instruction and a more complete awareness on the part of learner drivers of their responsibilities are needed before we can hope for an improvement in this position. It is my intention in the near future to seek powers to enable my Department to exercise a measure of control over the giving of driving instruction for reward.
Planning of a general scheme for periodic testing of vehicles is proceeding. I am anxious, however, that a general scheme should be preceded by a system of "spot checks" on vehicles in use on the public roads and I shall be seeking powers for this purpose. Such checks would be carried out by technicians employed by my Department, in collaboration with the Garda Síochána. They would serve a useful purpose not only in what they would achieve in discovering defects in vehicles but also by giving experience and information on matters essential to the administration of a general scheme of vehicle testing.
The coming into operation of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, on 1st October, 1964 marks the beginning of a new phase of creative planning. All local planning authorities must now proceed with preparing their development plans for their areas within three years, setting out their development objectives for the years ahead. The main aims of the new planning machinery include the modernisation of cities and towns to meet modern urban needs, the encouragement of balanced economic growth in all areas and the preservation of and improvement of amenities. The groundwork for the making of plans is being laid. This includes investigating existing physical conditions and development patterns in each area as a basis for future projections. The planning authorities are being helped in this in various ways.
An Foras Forbartha is conducting a series of seminars for local officers on the steps to be taken through surveys and other investigations in order to prepare the material on which to base their recomendations and advice to the elected members in regard to the planning objectives to be adopted. Two of these seminars have already been held with marked success. The material presented at the seminars is being worked into a planning manual which will be a valuable guide to local planning officers on both field and office work. A two-day course for local administrative staff was also held during the year and was very well attended and received. It is my intention that these forms of practical assistance for local planning authorities will be continued and will be supplemented in other ways including guidance and advice locally by the Department's planning staff. I have already announced that aerial surveys will be carried out, at State expense, of all built-up areas for which separate development plans must be prepared in order that authorities may be in a position to obtain supplies of up-to-date maps for their planning work.
It is not necessary to await the outcome of the recommended surveys before starting on positive planning. There is in all areas a fund of local knowledge and experience, quite apart from any development planning that may have been done in the past, and these can be put to good use right away. I have advised therefore that provisional plans be prepared forthwith for all built-up areas. This amounts to no more than setting down on paper, in the light of a quick assessment of needs, the best impressions at present available of the shape of future development.
This is a useful first step towards making the statutory plan and one which can be taken right away. The provisional plans will serve as a guide for immediate development and as a basis for discussions and investigations leading to the statutory plans. Sample provisional plans have been prepared by the Department's staff and they have been circulated and explained to local planning officers. It has been established that a provisional plan can be prepared for a town of five thousand population by one man in a week or so and I would urge on all planning authorities to press on with this work as a first priority.
The Second Programme for Economic Expansion provides that regional and national physical planning programmes will be evolved. These will serve to facilitate the implementation of the national economic and social development objectives in the field of planning and community development. To assist in this and to aid planning authorities with their separate plans regional planning studies are proposed in all regions. Nine regions have been tentatively declared. These regions overlap administrative boundaries and consist of groups of counties or parts of counties which have common features and are subject to common influences. Already the planning problems in two of the regions are being examined by independent experts. These are the Dublin region, which includes the area within thirty miles of the city and the Limerick region comprising Counties Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary.
A preliminary report on the Dublin study has now been received and has aroused widespread interest. This report is being studied. In addition, a model amenity development plan is being prepared for the Donegal region by An Foras Forbartha and this will serve as a valuable guide for planning authorities in the fields of amenity and tourist development. Suitable studies for the other regions will be arranged as soon as possible. The purpose of these regional studies, which are being carried out at State expense, is to promote co-ordinated planning on a regional and national scale. They will be of undoubted value to local planning authorities but they are not intended to affect these authorities' functions or to relieve them of their statutory responsibilities as regards the making and administration of their development plans.
The growth of traffic and the prospects of steadily increasing urban populations stress the importance of those features of the new planning legislation which are designed to secure the redevelopment of obsolete areas in cities and towns. Further evidence that the time is ripe to tackle this problem in a comprehensive way is seen in the steady spread of piecemeal redevelopment for offices and commercial buildings, particularly in the centres of the larger urban areas. Dublin Corporation adopted my suggestion to have an investigation made of the possibilities of large-scale commercial redevelopment in the city and have had prepared a pilot scheme for a large central area. The question of proceeding to implement this scheme, in whole or in part or some variation of it on the basis of a phased programme, is under active consideration by the Corporation with their consultant.
Some concern has been expressed on behalf of traders in the area concerned as to the implications of a redevelopment scheme. Full compensation on the basis of market values would, of course, be payable for any public acquisition, by agreement or compulsorily, of properties for the purpose of urban renewal projects, while it is to be expected that provision would be made as far as possible for the relocation of displaced interests within the area. Furthermore, there should be scope for participation by existing interests in the area in a renewal scheme. particularly where there is unified control of extensive pockets of properties. Where such interests are able and willing to participate realistically in the achievement of a balanced and viable overall scheme I am sure that they would be given every opportunity to do so by the planning authority. I believe that there are good prospects that suitable urban renewal projects will attract the necessary financial and technical support to enable them to be put into effect. There is a great deal to be done in this field towards creating improved urban environments in line with national economic advancement and the needs of modern urban communities. This will not be achieved overnight but it is important that urban planning authorities should take a lead from Dublin Corporation and proceed to investigate the need and opportunities for improvements in their own areas.
Some authorities have expressed concern as to the staff and financial implications of development planning. It is recognised that this is largely a new field of operation and that some difficulties arise. There is, for example, a considerable scarcity of trained planning staff. We are trying to overcome this by providing additional training facilities and by making the most of the available skills. I think it will be clear from what I have said that planning authorities are not being left to face these problems alone and that they can rely on a continuous programme of practical help from the Department and An Foras Forbartha. I should say, however, that there seems to be an exaggerated impression in some places of the difficulties and demands arising. I have already said that the first plans, the provisional plans, can be prepared quickly without any detailed surveys or other preparations. Furthermore, it has been established that the surveys which should precede the statutory plans can be got through in a short time using the simple methods detailed in the planning manual. I hope, therefore, that the minority of authorities who have not already done so will proceed without further delay with the organisational arrangements essential to enable them to operate the Act. This can be looked at as simply complying with the statutory requirements; but considering the pace of development nowadays and the changes it is bringing in the countryside self-interest alone makes it imperative to avail fully in all areas of the machinery which the Act provides not only to control new buildings and to preserve amenities, but to support the growth of economic activity and of local employment.
The provision under Subhead I for a grant-in-aid to An Foras Forbartha Teoranta, the National Institute for Physical Planning and Construction Research, shows an increase of £10,000 because the provision last year was for partial operation only since the majority of staff appointments were not made until towards the end of 1964. An Foras has made a most auspicious start, having shown in what amounts to only six months operation, great energy and effectiveness in getting its work programme under way. This was greatly assisted by the presence at the Institute of United Nations experts. Of the total team of twelve specialists who will be provided by the United Nations Special Fund to assist the initial establishment and operation of the Institute, five have already taken up duty and a number of others are expected in the near future. The Institute has now recruited a professional Irish staff of ten and in addition has awarded two whole-time fellowships in Town Planning to geography graduates.
The staff of the Institute are greatly assisted in their tasks by the Consultative Council representing professional, vocational and other interests concerned with its work programme. I am very grateful indeed to all the bodies and individuals who responded so enthusiastically to my invitation to serve on this Consultative Council and on the various committees it has established. The Institute is providing a means whereby all concerned with the work programme of the Institute in planning, building, roads and road traffic can combine together to examine needs and advise on the application of new methods and techniques, all with a view to helping in the building of a modern physical environment responsive to our growing economic and social needs.
The major responsibility of An Foras in planning is to assist the planning staffs of local authorities to prepare the new development plans, by producing a series of manuals on different aspects of a development plan such as land use and building condition, road traffic, amenity and so on. Each of these manuals is the subject of a seminar attended by the planning staffs of local authorities. These manuals and seminars are essential because, with the general shortage of planners, only the major urban areas have qualified planners on their staffs. An Foras has to date held two seminars on land use and building condition surveys and has produced a manual on this subject. Further seminars and manuals are in the course of preparation and it is expected that by the early Autumn the entire process of preparing a development plan will have been covered.
An Foras, in co-operation with the planning authorities concerned, are assisting in the preparation of a model amenity development plan for County Donegal and a model town plan for Galway City. It is also hoped to undertake a model urban renewal scheme in a medium-sized town and also to undertake a model regional plan for one of the nine planning regions. The Institute is organising next month a National Conference on Regional Planning at which it will present a paper on regional planning problems and possibilities in Ireland and introduce a number of international figures in regional planning to describe regional planning practice and achievement elsewhere.
In construction research An Foras has made very rapid progress. A National Conference on the Expansion of the Construction Industry which was held last December, focussed attention on some of the basic problems the industry faces in achieving the expansion targets of the Second Economic Programme which envisage that output per operative in the industry must rise by one-quarter between now and 1970. It is also engaged, at my request and with the assistance of working parties of its Building and Construction Committee, in preparing a draft of a new national code of building regulations, in an examination of the feasibility of introducing dimensional co-ordination in building and in a design-cost study of rural housing. I have also asked the Institute to examine some sixty proposals that I received for industrialised building methods with a view to recommending those which would be most suitable in Irish conditions. The Institute is also examining methods of measuring changes in building cost as, while we have cost indices for most other major price sectors in the economy, we do not have a reliable one for building and construction. I have also asked the Institute to examine the matter of improved organisational and management methods in the construction industry and a United Nations specialist in these matters will take up duty at the Institute shortly.
I have designated An Foras to be the national centre for roads construction research and road traffic research and a roads construction research officer and a road traffic research officer are being appointed. Two United Nations specialists in these fields will also take up duty in the near future. It is my desire that the Institute would, in conjunction with my Department, establish a comprehensive research programme in technical, economic and organisational aspects of expenditure on roads. I have already referred to my expectation that An Foras will develop a research programme in regard to road traffic and road safety. A major matter of research by An Foras will be the possible need for motorway standards on some of our roads and I have asked them to give this matter urgent attention.
The number of planning appeals under consideration on 1st April, 1964, was 490. The number of new appeals lodged during the year 1964/65 was 887, compared with 585 in the preceding year and 457 in the year 1962/63. The increase in the number of new appeals is the direct outcome of increased activity in all sections of the building industry. The number of appeals disposed of during the year 1964/65 was 745, of which 422 were formally determined by me. Of the remaining 323 cases, 173 appeals were withdrawn as a result of agreement between the parties, or for other reasons, and 150 appeals were invalid. Of the appeals formally determined by me during the year 1964/65, 101 were allowed and 95 were allowed subject to conditions. The decision of the planning authority was confirmed in 226 cases.
The new procedure under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, makes provision for the oral hearing of appeals and although the majority of appellants continue to deal with their appeals by way of written representations, some have availed themselves of the new procedure and it has been operating satisfactorily. The procedure for oral hearings is informal and inexpensive and it enables the planning issues in a case to be discussed in an open and frank manner.
The provision in Subhead G for grants for the clearance of derelict sites, for public amenity works and for dangerous quarries at £47,000 shows an increase of £12,000 on the provision in 1964/65. There was a significant increase in the number of grants allocated for derelict sites clearance last year, but a great deal remains to be done in this field to rid the countryside of the unsightly ruins and other disfigurements which catch attention on all sides, in both urban and rural areas. I hope to see a considerably greater use being made of these grants, with a strong lead being given by the local authorities especially where this problem has not so far been tackled in an organised way. During the year, 702 grants totalling £38,089 were allocated.
The scheme of grants for the development of public amenity works has had some notable successes, but here again the response in general to the provision of these grants has been less than enthusiastic. Under the Planning and Development Act, planning authorities generally have now a greatly increased interest and responsibility in this sphere of amenities and must include objectives under this heading in their development plans. The grants scheme is a positive encouragement and incentive to them to face up to these responsibilities. A great deal depends on the success of their efforts both as regards the preservation of natural scenic and recreational amenities and the development of the tourist industry. The scope of the amenity grants scheme is at present being reviewed in the light of the extended amenity responsibilities of the planning authorities under the Act and my Department will be in touch with the local authorities about this in due course. The grants are 50 per cent. of the approved cost of schemes and are available to both local authorities and private associations. In 1964/65, a total of £31,336 was allocated in 29 grants.
Steps were taken during the year to speed up consideration of compulsory acquisition proposals at all stages and practically all cases in which any considerable delays had occurred were cleared. At the beginning of the year 72 proposals in respect of land and water rights were under consideration; during the year 66 cases were finally disposed of and 46 new proposals were received, leaving a total of 52 cases under consideration as at 31st March, 1965.
In the contract year ended 30th June, 1964, the value of commodities purchased by local authorities through the Combined Purchasing Scheme was approximately £4,325,000 which is an increase of approximately £25,000 on purchases made through the scheme in the previous contract period.
The Estimate includes an amount of £12,500 for grants to An Chomhairle Leabharlanna. Of this amount, £2,500 will be for meeting current expenses and £10,000 to enable An Chomhairle to make grants to library authorities of up to 50 per cent of the loan charges incurred on projects designed to improve the local library services. This scheme of grants was introduced under regulations which I made in November, 1961. The response by local library authorities was disappointing at the outset, but I am pleased to say that the scheme now seems to be getting properly under way and projects have been approved by An Chomhairle or are under consideration by that body which should result in fine new branch libraries, modern mobile libraries and major book restockings being provided in a score of areas. I look forward to a big expansion in the scale of these activities in coming years.
I turn now to an aspect of local administration which is of pressing interest to everybody, that is the question of expenditure on local services. In the financial year just ended, the total revenue expenditure of local authorities, excluding vocational educational committees, committees of agriculture and harbour authorities was approximately £77.835 million. The corresponding figure for the current year is estimated to be £85.840 million. In 1964-65, receipts from rates amounted to £26.032 million representing 33.47 per cent of expenditure. State grants and subsidies totalled £38.030 million and met 48.86 per cent of the expenditure, while miscellaneous receipts, such as rents from local authority houses, fees from paying patients in hospitals and repayments of house purchase loans accounted for the remainder. Receipts from rates in the current year will be some £29.114 million and will meet approximately 33.91 per cent of expenditure, and contributions from the Exchequer will account for £43.644 million or 50.84 per cent. For a number of years past State grants and subsidies have been meeting a steadily increasing percentage of local revenue expenditure while the proportion of that expenditure defrayed by the rates has been falling in corresponding degrees.
To illustrate the extent of this trend, let me quote a few examples. In 1938/39 the State met 39.2 per cent of local authorities' revenue expenditure; in 1956/57 the proportion was 42.6 per cent, by 1964/65 it had risen to 48.86 per cent and in the present year the State will, for the first time, meet more than 50 per cent of the expenditure. I should like to emphasise, however, that the most striking feature of local finance in the post-war period, and particularly in recent years, is not the increase in rates but rather the increase in Government grants which now meet more than half of the total expenditure of local authorities. The total rates bill for 1938/39 was 4 per cent of the national income for that year. It was also 4 per cent of the national income for 1960/61 and it was 3.6 per cent of the national income for 1963/64, the latest year for which statistics are so far available.
Capital expenditure of local authorities in 1964/65 is estimated at £17.811 million, an increase of £3.305 million on 1963/64. Local authorities continued to obtain the bulk of their capital requirements from the Local Loans Fund. The total net indebtedness of local authorities at 31st March, 1965, was estimated at £179.037 million.