asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he is aware that a supply of electricity is not being made available by the ESB to new local authority houses in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency unless the tenants of such houses put up the full capital charge for service; if he is aware that the tenants are unable to meet such capital charges; and if he will make suitable arrangements to have such houses serviced by the ESB.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sligo-Leitrim Electricity Supply.
9.
I would refer the Deputy to my reply to the questions put down by Deputies James Tully, Seán Dunne and Michael P. Murphy on 2nd November, 1966 in which I stated that I had authorised the ESB to proceed with connection in rural electrification areas in cases where houses are already wired and a firm commitment has been made.
If the Deputy will furnish particulars of the cases in which local authority tenants in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency have been asked to meet capital charges, I will have the matter investigated and I will communicate further with him.
Does the Minister think it realistic to ask a smallholder, when he applies for a connection or an extension, to pay down from £350 to £400? Is it not a joke to ask him to do this?
I do not think it is realistic.
Might I ask if the Minister does not agree that we have reached the zenith of futility when the Government owe the ESB £2½ million and the ESB say they have no capital wherewith to install electricity in small farmers' homes?
I have already explained the position. The ESB and other State bodies who raise large sums of money invariably invest this money temporarily with the Minister for Finance. This is a perfectly normal matter which always occurs. In this case the capital has been found to continue the programme to the end of the financial year. The Deputy knows the capital is strictly taken care of by the Minister for Finance. The position has been made absolutely clear and now the money is being made available for these connections.
Is the word "temporarily" not the operative word in the Minister's reply? If the Minister is right in saying that these advances are made temporarily to the Government, it is clearly envisaged that where the money is required by the ESB to discharge their statutory duty, which is to connect an applicant whose application has been approved, the Government should make available to the ESB repayment of so much of the loan as is requisite to carry out their statutory duty. If it is only a temporary loan, why do the Government not pay back that part of the loan now required by the ESB to discharge that duty? The answer is that you have not got it. Now I have to ask the questions and answer them myself.
Is the Minister aware of the general anxiety throughout the country by people who have applied for ESB extensions and cannot get them? Will the Minister take steps to meet the requirements of these people by providing an ESB service on the same scale as heretofore? May I ask Deputy Lynch, the Minister for Finance and the new Taoiseach, to give back to the ESB the £2½ million which he has borrowed from them?
May I ask the Minister, when he says that it is quite clear the ESB can now carry out their usual capital programme, if he will make it clear to the people who are anxious to get connection in rural Ireland that they have no hope of getting it for the next 12 months?
There was a programme arranged for rural connections on the basis of the values known to us last year. The existing programme will be completed about 1969 or 1970. The programme has to be revised in the light of increasing costs to the ESB and the general capital position. I may say that nearly 84 per cent of all rural dwellers are now connected and I regard that as fairly good progress.
(Cavan): Is it not a fact that letters are being sent out from every district office of the ESB saying that it has been found necessary to slow down the rate of new connections because of lack of capital? If that is so, why does the Minister not get back his £2½ million from the Government and get on with the programme?
One of the problems arises from the fact that the domestic demand for current has risen faster than was anticipated because the people in the rural districts are now able to pay for more power. Consequently system improvement has taken the greater part of the capital allocated for rural electrification generally.