asked the Minister for Lands when a decision will be made on the revised proposals to settle the Inishturbot islanders, County Galway, referred to in a previous reply (details supplied).
20.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Resettlement of Islanders.
19.
asked the Minister for Lands the number of families residing on Inishturbot, County Galway, who qualify for assistance from the Land Commission to facilitate their resettlement on the mainland near Clifden, County Galway; and the amount of financial assistance already paid under this scheme.
21.
asked the Minister for Lands if he will give an estimate of the cost of resettling Inishturbot islanders on the mainland near Clifden, County Galway.
(Cavan): With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 19, 20 and 21 together.
The revised proposals to assist the Turbot islanders call for very careful examination by the Departments concerned, particularly in relation to the location of new houses. This examination is being pushed forward as quickly as possible and it is hoped that final conclusions can be reached without delay. Meantime, I am not in a position to give information in the matter. None of the Turbot families availed of the scheme of assistance to enable them to settle on the mainland which I announced in May, 1973.
Is the Minister aware that I have been making representations over a long period of time in this matter but consistently since last September following the tragedy when everybody on the island agreed to transfer to the mainland? There may have been some doubts in the minds of some of the families up to then, but these islanders were hoping that the Minister's Department would facilitate their transfer so as to avoid their having to reside on the island for another winter. As many months have passed since September when the tragedy took place there is very little chance of these people being transferred before September. They are upset at the long delay in coming to a decision. I understand that it rests with the Government and I would urge the Minister again—he has listened to my pleas before—to expedite an early and favourable decision on their behalf.
(Cavan): As the Deputy knows, when the change of Government came about, plans were in an advanced stage for the evacuation of Turbot Island and I more or less adopted the plans that had been prepared. The Turk islanders availed of the assistance given and for all practical purposes they have been accommodated. As things turned out, the Turbot islanders were not in a position to avail of the financial assistance offered. There are 17 families involved and questions have arisen as to whether they should get 17 different small plots or should be accommodated in one scheme or group of houses. Even with the best will in the world it would not be possible to have that sort of operation completed before next winter, much as one would wish to do so, but I do appreciate the urgency of the matter and the Deputy may take it that it is being treated as a matter of urgency.
Could the Minister say if a proposal has been put to him from the Land Commission in Galway which awaits a decision at his level?
(Cavan): When the Deputy refers to proposals from the Land Commission in Galway, I know he appreciates that he is speaking about a report which has been submitted on the whole matter, and this is being considered.
Can the Minister say if that report has been in his Department for approximately three to four months?
(Cavan): I would not be in a position to say exactly how long it is in the Department, but it is there for some little time.
Is one of the difficulties in this matter that the Department take the view that they will offer the financial assistance and it is then up to the individual to procure a site or a place for himself? Would a solution to the difficulty not be if the Department were to use their powers?
(Cavan): No. Deputy Haughey is at the disadvantage that he has not as much information about this matter as Deputy Molloy. That was the scheme offered originally to the Turbot islanders, that financial assistance would be given and they would supplement that and avail of the scheme, but it transpired that the Turbot islanders were not in a financial position to avail of the scheme and it is conceded that if they are to be evacuated now the job will have to be done for them, so to speak.
Does that include acquiring land or sites for them?
(Cavan): Yes.
I may be totally misinformed about this but I have the word of one of the islanders for the fact that the difficulty as far as he was concerned was that he was told to go and get a site himself first and he was completely incapable of doing that.
(Cavan): As I think Deputy Molloy would concede, that was the proposal which my predecessor and I thought would be feasible. It was as far as the Turk islanders were concerned but did not prove feasible as far as the Turbot islanders were concerned, and in the light of its having proved not to be workable, the matter is being reconsidered.
That is precisely what I am asking. Does the reconsideration involve the Minister using the powers of his Department to acquire land for these people?
(Cavan): It does.
That is all I want to know.
(Cavan): And it also involves a decision as to whether there should be 17 or 18 separate and distinct sites or whether there should be a group scheme, and various other matters.
The Minister must be aware that the islanders' primary anxiety is to obtain a residence on the mainland. They are not insisting that they be placed in a settlement of 17 all in the one place. They are quite satisfied to accept any reasonable solution on the mainland, together or scattered.
(Cavan): It is not altogether clear, but I gather from an informal chat I had with a Deputy that that is probably the position. They were in search of isolated sites in the first place.
22.
asked the Minister for Lands if any financial assistance will be given to a person in County Galway (name supplied) to enable him to settle permanently on the mainland at Lettermore, County Galway.
(Cavan): The Land Commission do not operate any general scheme of financial assistance to enable inhabitants of off-shore islands to settle on the mainland. The Deputy will be aware, of course, that the Land Commission are not a housing authority and that they have no function in regard to rehousing except in so far as it arises in the course of their land settlement operations.
The Minister will agree that this case is very similar to the cases mentioned in the previous questions, the only difference being that here we are dealing with an individual and in the other with a number of families. Due to the fact that the individual is in circumstances similar to those of the families on Inishturbot, would he not agree to provide a similar type of assistance to enable this person to settle on the mainland?
(Cavan): Assistance was offered to the islanders involved in this question and it is correct that none of them availed of it, but I take the view that as this is an isolated case, it is more properly one to be dealt with by Galway County Council as the housing authority than by the Land Commission.