asked the Minister for Lands if and when he intends to re-employ the 14 men who were declared redundant last year in forests in south west Cork.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Cork Forestry Redundancies.
15.
There is no immedate prospect of re-employing the 14 men who were made redundant last year in forests in south west Cork but the matter is being kept under review.
In view of the statement by the Minister recently on his Estimate that there was no scarcity of money in the Department, why have these men been kept out of employment during the past year, and why have they not been taken on since?
The information I have here is that the reason for the lay-off of the men was a lack of land reserve and poor prospects of further acquisition at these forests.
It is local knowledge that plenty of land is available for planting which has been in the possession of the Department for a number of years. Surely these people who have been with the Department for a long time and were declared redundant last year could be given employment?
The information available to me does not bear out what the Deputy says in relation to land being available. My information is that there is a lack of land reserve and poor prospects of acquiring further land.
Does the Minister accept that the number is small? This question has been raised here on a number of occasions. Possibly three or four of the men who were laid off may not be available for employment so the number is reduced to ten. Surely it is within the power of the Department to re-employ ten extra men in such a vast area as south west Cork. The Minister's excuse about the non-availability of land is incorrect. Would he not consider that it would be better to have these men employed in productive work rather than going to the employment exchanges to get money from the Department of Social Welfare?
I have already pointed out the reasons for the lay-off and, so far as I am aware, despite the best efforts on the part of the Land Commission, it has not been possible to maintain the existing staff.
The Department of Lands are not making any effort.
The Deputy can be sure that they are.