Vol. 305 No. 8
asked the Minister for Agriculture the criteria that are to be applied in the allocation of funds under the new £30 million drainage scheme to aid western Ireland; the types of works that will qualify under the scheme; how applications are to be made and assessed; the estimated number of jobs to be provided by the scheme; and when it is intended that actual work should begin.
46.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will establish a land drainage authority to co-ordinate all agricultural drainage.
47.
asked the Minister for Agriculture the counties that will benefit from the £15½ million that this country is getting from the EEC for drainage; and the Government Department that will operate this scheme.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 45, 46 and 47 together.
Could I submit that Question No. 46 is a separate question which should not be lumped with the other two?
I have no control over this.
Why does the Minister look for your permission if you have no control over it?
It is a form of courtesy rather than the practicalities of the case. The Deputy should wait until he sees the answer that is given.
I hope you will allow me sufficient supplementaries on it.
I would refer the Deputies to my reply on 15 December 1977 about the proposal put forward by the EEC Commission which envisages Community funds being provided for drainage work in the west of Ireland. The proposal relates to the drainage of certain rivers under the arterial drainage programme as well as to ordinary field drainage work of the kind dealt with by my Department. It would apply to operations in the western region. Until the proposed measure is finally adopted and its precise terms are known the criteria and procedures to be adopted in implementing it cannot be settled.
What is the breakdown between field drainage and arterial drainage for the whole lot?
There is no particular breakdown at present. There have been suggestions made that one-third of the money allocated be devoted to arterial drainage and two-thirds to field drainage. There is nothing specific about that. Until we have the scheme in our hands and have the money allocated by Brussels I do not think we should come down too fast on any particular idea. I would prefer to wait to see what we get and proceed from there.
I am sure the Minister is well aware of the importance of drainage in the west. Is it likely that a cost-benefit analysis survey will have to be carried out on each of the smaller rivers or catchment areas that could come under this scheme? If that is to take place it could delay the implementation of it for quite a long time.
Any of the rivers done under the Arterial Drainage Act must have a cost-benefit analysis carried out.
Will a cost-benefit analysis have to be carried out in the case of rivers which would never come on a priority list for arterial drainage and which could be eligible for drainage under this scheme?
I do not think so. There are plenty of small streams in the west, as the Deputy knows, which could be done and which could provide a very sizeable acreage of land to be reclaimed under the other scheme. I see no reason why something like that could not be done. A cost-benefit analysis will have to be done even in the case of some of the rivers mentioned in this scheme from Brussels and it is quite possible that they might not be ready to proceed. The only one that is actually ready is the one in the Deputy's constituency, the Corrib-Mask, and that is ready to proceed at any time.
Could I ask the Minister three questions in relation to this matter? Firstly, could he give a guarantee that this money will be used to do additional works in the arterial drainage field and not merely be used to prop up the programme of drainage which was to be done anyway whether or not the aid was made available? Secondly, could the Minister state in the case of field drainage for farmers whether or not this aid will be available to all farmers regardless of whether or not they are fulltime and qualify for the farm modernisation scheme? Thirdly, would he not agree that there is need for a land drainage authority in view of the fact that the Board of Works, the Department of the Environment and the Department of Agriculture have their fingers in the pie at the moment and are not sufficiently co-ordinated in this important area?
I hope this money will be additional to any money that is available at the moment. With regard to the question of the land drainage authority I do not know if that is practical at present because the Office of Public Works are responsible for all work carried out under the Arterial Drainage Act. I believe they are quite capable of doing that type of work. As far as the land reclamation field drainage is concerned we have the different agencies under the Department of Agriculture and I believe they are the best qualified people to carry out that type of work with the co-operation of An Foras Talúntais.
Have the Department not already submitted schemes to be done under this £31 million scheme? Will this be over five years or are we likely to get more money within the next five years?
This will be over a fiveyear period and at the end of the fiveyear period the position will be reviewed. If it is found that we need more money after that and that there is more to be done I hope we will get additional funds from the EEC.
Have schemes already been submitted by the Department that would absorb a substantial amount of it?
Not in relation to this scheme. Schemes were submitted before this came into the news at all.
I am not satisfied with the Minister's reply in this regard. I should like to know what Department will spend this money?
The Department of Agriculture.
The entire sum?
Yes, I will be responsible for the organisation of the scheme in the 12 western counties where the money will be spent.
Must we spend a certain proportion of this money this year?
I hope we will do so. The Ministers will be meeting on this next week and I hope the scheme will be finalised in Brussels. I hope we will be able to go ahead a short time after that.
Do the officials in Brussels dictate to us what to do or have we a choice?
We have a choice to a certain extent. The Deputy must remember that half of the money will be put up by the EEC and, naturally enough they will lay down certain conditions. We must provide £ for £.
I am not talking about the conditions but about the selection of schemes.
Our staff will be submitting schemes for Brussels to consider.
I take it that if the Department are selecting the schemes it is open to Deputies and others to recommend them.
I hope so.
This dialogue across the floor could just as easily take place in Galway as here.
Have the Department formed any view as to the size of the additional employment potential inherent in the drainage schemes these questions relate to?
Not at present.
