asked the Minister for External Affairs if it is proposed to have any meeting in the near future with members of the British Government to discuss matters of mutual interest relative to Ireland's proposed entry to the EEC.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Membership of EEC.
7.
I am meeting tomorrow in London Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and Mr. Geoffrey Rippon, the British Minister responsible for the negotiations with the European Communities. There are, of course, continuing consultations between the British and Irish Delegations in relation to the negotiations for membership of the Communities.
Will the Minister keep his temper when he meets those people tomorrow?
Would the Minister think that there is a possibility of our Government pursuing their own application in the event of Britain lapsing?
That would not have anything to do with the meeting.
Will the Minister be able to tell us at first hand about the actual determination behind Britain's application?
I will be meeting the people concerned.
Will the Minister be in a position to get an early warning should there be any sign of Britain's application lapsing?
I imagine I will know the intention.
As the debate on the EEC is to resume next week will it be possible for the Minister if he so thinks fit to issue a statement which would be helpful to our debate following these discussions?
The Deputies can imagine that if the British Government wanted a statement of their position made they would have it made otherwise than in our Parliament. If they felt I was going to make a public announcement of what they tell me, I feel they would not tell me so much.
I am only asking the Minister to tell what he thinks he ought to tell.
But the Deputy understands what I mean.
Does that mean that when the Minister returns from London, and even though the debate will be in progress here, he is not prepared to disclose what the true position is?
The discussions will be described as "useful".
Am I to understand that there is some danger that the British Foreign Minister is not taking the Minister into his full confidence?
That is a distinct possibility.
I imagine a representative of any nation should take care of the interests of his own nation first, whatever nation that may be.
The Minister is no doubt aware of the financial disagreement between the British Government and the EEC countries and in the event of Britain deciding not to go into the EEC is it still the intention of our Government to delay until the British entry or do we go it alone?
That is a separate question.
I will consider having a record made of this. I have discussed that several times at Question Time and——
(Interruptions.)
Is the Minister aware that members of the Conservative Party prior to the general election stated that they would not be bound by the Free Trade Area Agreemen signed by the Labour Government and if England does not get into the EEC is he aware of the dangers to us if they placed embargoes or tariffs on our agricultural produce?
I have no reason to believe that such a threat will be carried out and——
(Interruptions.)
Are our Government prepared to go it alone or will they delay until England enters the EEC?
We had a discussion on this yesterday.
Question No. 8.
(Interruptions.)
8.
asked the Minister for External Affairs if he will explain precisely his interpretation of the position in regard to the purchase of land by Europeans when Ireland joins the EEC.
As my reply is a lengthy and detailed one, I propose, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.
Following is the reply:
The applicant countries will be required to accept the Treaty of Rome and the decisions taken by the Community to implement its provisions. One of the provisions of the Treaty is that the EEC Council shall issue directives to enable nationals of one country to acquire and use land and buildings situated in any of the other member counties. But it is specified that, in the application of this provision, there should be no conflict with the principles of the Community's common agricultural policy. These principles, which are at the basis of the common agricultural policy, are clearly set out in the Treaty of Rome and they require that account should be taken of—
(1) the particular nature of agricultural activity in the Community resulting from the social structure of agriculture and from the structural and national disparities between the various agricultural regions in the Community.
(2) the need to effect the appropriate adjustment to the common agricultural policy by degrees; and
(3) the fact that, in the member States, agriculture constitutes a sector closely linked with the economy as a whole.
The Article in the Treaty on the right of a national of one member country to purchase land in another member country is an enabling one— it must be implemented by specific directives of the Council of the Communities. To date full right of establishment in agricultural land has not yet been introduced. However, a number of directives have been issued on this question and the present position is that—
(1) nationals of one member country now have the right to acquire farms in other member countries which have been left abandoned or left uncultivated for more than two years; and
(2) nationals of one member country who have worked as paid agricultural workers in another member country for an unbroken period of at least two years have the right to acquire a farm or farms in that member country.
Furthermore, other directives have been issued by the Council which provide for equal rights as between nationals of a member country and non-nationals to change farms and legal equality as between nationals and non-nationals in respect of accession to leases.
The situation, therefore, has not yet been reached where nationals of one member country are fully free to purchase farms in any other member country. The Council has had before it since January 1969 a draft directive which, if adopted, would grant, in effect, full rights to nationals of one country to purchase farms in other member countries. It is not possible to say at this stage when this draft directive might be adopted. It is possible that it may be adopted between now and Ireland's accession to the EEC; or perhaps its adoption will not arise until after accession.
The Land Act of 1965 governs the purchase of agricultural land in this country by non-nationals. The Act prescribes that all non-nationals who have not lived continuously in Ireland for at least seven years cannot buy rural land except with the permission of the Land Commission. Rural land required for industrial purposes and holdings of up to five acres required for residential purposes are exempt from this requirement. Non-nationals who have lived in Ireland for seven years or more may purchase land on the same terms as Irish nationals.
When Ireland accedes to the EEC, the directives already adopted by the Community on right of establishment in land will be applicable here. The present directives would enable non-nationals to buy agricultural land which had been left abandoned or uncultivated for more than two years; they would also enable non-nationals who had worked in this country as paid agricultural labourers for a continuous period of two years to buy agricultural land here. It is not expected that the acceptance of these Community directives would create any serious difficulties in so far as our national interests are concerned.
The Government attach the utmost importance to this question of land purchase. I, therefore, raised the question at the very outset of the negotiations. In the statement which I made at our first negotiating meeting with the Communities in September of last year, I drew attention to Ireland's present controls on the purchase of land by non-nationals. I explained that these controls were necessary in pursuance of the Government's policy of achieving equitable distribution of land and creating viable agricultural holdings. I also informed the Community that, in relation to the possible introduction of full right of establishment in agricultural land, we would raise in the negotiations our need to maintain sufficient control over the disposal of land in Ireland in order to enable us to pursue policies to deal with such structural problems as exist. It is proposed to pursue the matter at an appropriate stage in the negotiations.
(Cavan): If it is not in the nature of statistics, and I am sure it is not, would the Minister not consider it better to give it to the House by way of an oral reply? Is it a fact that assuming we do enter the EEC it will not be possible for us to impose a restraint on the purchase of land based on nationality?
It is a long answer and it was agreed among the Whips that these long answers would be entered in the Official Report for ciruculation. The answer to the Deputy's supplementary is that the draft directive from the Commission to the Council which would give right of free establishment has not as yet been adopted. The present position and if we were a member now would not give free right of establishment to everybody and we would have national controls possible to us as we have at the moment, but if the draft directive before the Council is adopted then the right of establishment would be given to any member of the Community in relation to other countries which are members.
(Cavan): If the directive is passed or accepted it would not be open to us to impose restrictions?
I have already told the Community that in the event of this draft directive being adopted before we become a member we would seek in the negotiations some method by which our Government could control the sale of land because we need to do this from the point of view of our structural reforms.
(Cavan): The Minister does appreciate the absolute importance of preserving our right in this respect?
Yes, that is right.