asked the Minister for Lands if, in view of the grave dissatisfaction expressed by people who are paid in land bonds by his Department, he proposes to abolish this method of payment; and if so, when.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Bond Payments.
21.
I would refer the Deputy to my remarks, on the subject of land bonds, when winding up the debate on the Estimates for my Department on the 3rd of this month—Volume 256, No. 6, columns 833 and 834.
I have nothing to add at this stage.
The Minister will have to agree that he did not make exactly clear what he intended to do. Is it the Minister's intention to pay in cash? We purchase roughly only £1.1 million to £1.2 million worth of land each year and surely out of an expenditure of £750 million that sum of money could be found so that the people concerned would be paid in cash?
That is really a different question. I have dealt with the subject of land bonds in my reply.
Yes, but the Minister did not tell us whether he intended to pay for the land in cash. The Minister is well aware that the present system amounts to legalised robbery. The Minister admitted recently that he had sold bonds that morning for 64. I know a man who got £10,000 in land bonds for a farm for which he would easily have got £10,000 in cash. When he put them on the market all he got was £8,000. He lost £2,000 on the deal. There are many other people in a similar position. Surely the Minister will admit that the present system is unfair and unjust to one section of the community? Is the Minister also aware that bonds will not be taken in payment of death duties?
Would the Minister not agree that the time has arrived when land bonds should be guaranteed the same as any other State funds and thereby ensure that people will be prepared to take them and there will be a bigger investment in State loans?
Would the Minister not agree that considering that the value of money has been going down by 10 per cent every year recently, it is a bit much that land bonds should also go down by 10 per cent every couple of months?
We are not blaming the Minister for this.
The Deputies have not added anything to the situation by the questions here today. The situation in regard to land bonds is perfectly clear. My own attitude is quite clear. I pointed out to the House, and there should not be any need for me to repeat it, that, with the agreement of the Government, officials of my Department and the Department of Finance are now studying ways and means of removing the disabilities.
They have taken a long time over it, have they not? It is nearly three years since I first raised this matter in the House.
The Deputy may have raised it but it is only a matter of weeks since I announced this.
No. The Minister will have to admit that two and a half years ago he told us that unless something was done about them within one year he would resign from the Department. He told us that in this House.
I said three weeks ago that I had got agreement from the Government to the re-examination of the whole situation in regard to land bonds. I pointed out that the consultations between Finance and my Department were going on, and I do not think the Deputy's questions here have added anything to the situation.
We admit that the Minister has good ideas from time to time, but we want to know if the Government intend to act.