asked the Minister for Agriculture the amount of money allocated for land purchase in 1979.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Purchase
9.
As the Deputy will be aware, the bulk of the lands coming into the possession of the Land Commission are acquired for land bonds. In 1979 a total of £9.6 million in bonds was issued by the commission for this purpose. In addition, a sum of £2,050,000 was available for the purchase of lands for cash made up of £800,000 voted in 1979 for this purpose, plus £1,250,000 already in the relevant grant-in-aid funds.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Will the Minister state the acreage of land that could be purchased for that amount?
I have not that information. It would depend on the part of the country and the type of land.
Will the Minister state if it is correct that in this year's Estimate only £10 was provided for the purchase of land for cash?
That is completely wrong and I think the Minister referred to that matter in his statement today. The Deputy knows that it is the usual custom for a Government to issue a token Estimate of £10 in order to give the House a chance to discuss the matter. The Minister will bring in a Bill very shortly that will provide £25 million in land bonds for the purchase of land.
The question I asked the Minister was if it was true that only £10 was provided for cash purchase. That is true.
It is not true. The Deputy knows that £10 would not purchase a cabbage garden.
I am calling Question No. 10.
(Cavan-Monaghan): A sum of £25 million is a very small amount having regard to the present price of land.
If it is necessary to come before the House again for additional money that will be done. It is only about 12 months ago since I brought a Bill before the House for £20 million.
(Cavan-Monaghan): At the time I told the Minister it would do about three months work.
The Chair would like to draw the attention of Deputies to procedure at Question Time. Deputies should not get up and ask questions ab lib without addressing the Chair.
(Cavan-Monaghan): I should like the permission of the Chair to ask a final supplementary on this question. Is the Minister aware that £25 million would buy about 8,000 acres of land and that is about three months normal work for the Land Commission? In a normal year they acquire about 30,000 acres.
The Deputy at one time was Minister for Lands and he knows that one cannot just go out and buy land immediately. It can take months and years to negotiate the purchase of land. The sum of £25 million will be provided and when negotiations are completed for the purchase of the land it will be paid for.
(Cavan-Monaghan): I am saying to the Minister that providing as little as £25 million which will cover only three or four months work is not being serious about the matter.
The sum of £25 million is sufficient for the present and if it is necessary to come before the House in one or two years time we will do that.
10.
asked the Minister for Agriculture the acreage of land purchased by the Land Commission for distribution among small farmers in each of the years 1977, 1978 and 1979.
The total area acquired by the Land Commission in each of the years mentioned is as follows: 1977—12,068 hectares, 1978—8,745 hectares, 1979—9,500 hectares approximately.
11.
asked the Minister for Agriculture the number of negotiations commenced by the Land Commission with a view to purchase in 1979.
Presumably what the Deputy requires is the number of cases where the Land Commission——
I wish to ask a supplementary on Question No. 10.
We are now dealing with Question No. 11.
The Chair did not give me a chance even to stand up to ask a question.
If the Deputy resumes his seat now he will get a chance to ask a question when the Minister has finished giving his reply.
How can the Chair allow the Deputy to ask supplementaries on Question No. 10 after Question No. 11 has been answered?
That is for the Chair to decide. Will the Deputy please allow the Minister to finish his reply?
Presumably what the Deputy requires is the number of cases where the Land Commission initiated proceedings for the compulsory acquisition or voluntary purchase of lands in 1979. The figure requested would then be 122.
In view of the information we got in the replies to Questions Nos. 10 and 11, is it not the case that we are now almost abandoning the purchase of land?
No. I am satisfied that progress is being made. As I said in reply to Deputy Fitzpatrick, the emphasis at present is on the reallocation of land already in the hands of the Land Commission.
Will the Minister tell the House how the Land Commission can reallocate land if they do not buy it? It is obvious at the moment that land is not being bought and, therefore, it cannot be reallocated. Surely land must be bought three, four or five years in advance?
At the present rate of allocation, the Land Commission have approximately three to four years' work on their hands. They have to deal with the division of approximately 60,000 acres that they have in stock and approximately 40,000 acres are at various stages of acquisition. During the next few years we hope to get rid of that land and to concentrate as far as possible on the division of commonages.
If you continue to take land out of the pool and you are not putting land back into the pool, which is very obvious from the figures given here, inside about four years you will not have land to allocate?
I am satisfied with the progress we made last year. We acquired approximately 9,500 hectares.
What amount of land is involved in the 122 new negotiations?
I do not have that information but perhaps I can give it privately to the Deputy if he needs it.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Does the Minister's reply not mean that he is winding up the Land Commission?
That is not so.
(Cavan-Monaghan): If the Minister is dividing the land on hand and not acquiring land, does that not mean that the Land Commission is being wound up?
That is just argument. Question No. 12.
(Cavan-Monaghan): £25 million may sound great; it is 8,000 acres.
£105 million from the——
(Cavan-Monaghan): Not at all. The Minister is talking nonsense.
Everybody does, except the Deputy.
A few minutes ago Deputy Fitzpatrick was criticising the Land Commission for not dividing the land they had in stock for the past ten or 12 years. I have stated that I am making some effort to comply with Deputy Fitzpatrick's wishes and with the wishes of other people in trying to get rid of that land. At the same time we are continuing our acquisition programme.
(Cavan-Monaghan): It is at the winding up stage.
It is not.
Order.
A final question—how does the land pool in 1977 compare with the same pool in 1980?
I have given the figures for 1977 and 1979 which is the last year for which I have figures.
The Minister did not give figures for re-allocations. How does the land pool compare in 1980 with 1977?
The land pool would be smaller because we are making greater progress in re-allocation of land and we shall continue that programe.
The rate of acquisition dropped by 25 per cent last year.
The rate of allocation has increased dramatically because when the Coalition Government were in power they did not divide the land. They held it in stock.
9,000 hectares is 25 per cent less than 12,000.
12.
(Cavan-Monaghan) asked the Minister for Agriculture the reasons for the dramatic fall in the number of notices served under section 40 of the Land Act, 1923, as amended by the Land Act, 1965, from 118 for the period May-October 1977 and 197 for the period May-October 1978 to 22 for the period May-October, 1979; if this represents a change in Land Commission policy and if he will make a statement on the matter.
There has been no change in Land Commission policy in regard to the acquisition of land.
However, as the former Minister told the Deputy in reply to a question last July, increased emphasis is being placed on distributing lands already in possession of the Land Commission and on finalising acquisition proceedings at present in progress. The figures quoted by the Deputy reflect this emphasis.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Does the Minister agree that in the period May-October 1977 180 notices were served; in the same period in 1978, 197 were served and in the same period in 1979 only 22 were served? Does the Minister agree that these notices initiate compulsory acquisition of land and, if so, is it not apparent to the Minister that the Land Commission are acquiring virtually no land and that the small farmers are being thrown to the wolves and have to see small farms which would make them viable being gobbled up by large landowners and speculators?
That is a statement.
(Cavan-Monaghan): It is not.
What is it then?
I do not accept what the Deputy has said. The figure I have given of 9,500 hectares as acquired in 1979 is an indication that the Land Commission are continuing their policy of acquiring land but, as I said previously, greater emphasis is being placed on the distribution of land already in the hands of the Land Commission. Naturally we cannot do the two jobs at the same time.
(Cavan-Monaghan): How does the Minister explain a drop from 197 in 1978 to 22 last year?
It is very easy to explain. We are deploying our staff and resources to the division of land at present.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Is the Minister departing from the constitutional directive which says that as many people as economically possible should be maintained on the land? Is that being thrown to one side?
That is one of the main platforms of the Fianna Fáil Party and we will never depart from it.
(Interruptions.)
Order.
If the Minister claims that there is no change in the Land Commission policy could he explain why recently in County Longford the land court met and had about 20 cases where the people objected but in every single case the owners were allowed to hold on to the land even though some of them were speculators and small farmers are crying out for land in County Longford?
That is a matter for the land court and it is not my function to comment.
Is it not the Government's policy that they do not acquire land at present?
(Cavan-Monaghan): I should like to give notice that I intend to raise the question of the Government's land policy on the Adjournment.
I shall communicate with the Deputy.