asked the Minister for Local Government the reasons why the application by Kinsale Urban District Council for allotments this year has been refused by his Department; and whether it is now the policy of his Department to reduce the number of these allotments generally and to discourage local authorities from continuing this system.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Kinsale Allotments.
44.
The application from Kinsale UDC for approval to the rent for land for allotments for 1965 was not received in my Department until 29th April last. Since this is only the first step in approving an allotments scheme and since planting should be completed before the end of April in early areas, it was considered that it would be uneconomic to operate a scheme in Kinsale this year. Accordingly, the council's application was not approved.
There is no official policy of reducing the number of allotments schemes generally or of discouraging local authorities from continuing the system. I may say, however, that in recent years many local authorities have themselves decided to discontinue their schemes. The number of local authorities operating schemes has fallen from 29 in 1960 to eight in the present year.
In view of the severe hardship which the refusal of this application would impose on some 20 needy families in Kinsale who are dependent year after year on these plots to provide very important items of food for themselves, would the Minister not agree to deal more leniently with it, particularly seeing that on previous occasions allotments were approved at a later date than the date of the refusal on this occasion?
As I have said, this application was not received by my Department until the 29th April, which is only the first step, and some further time would elapse before the finalisation of any such scheme. The time within which that would be done would probably have brought the start of operations on these allotments up to this month. Therefore, I do not think it would be an economic proposition this year. That is without prejudice to anything that might be proposed for next year.