(Cavan-Monaghan): I gave notice today of my intention to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of Question No. 12 on today's Order Paper. My question was as follows:
To ask 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.
As I understand it, the Constitution lays down the guidelines that it shall be one of our social policies to maintain as many people as possible in economic comfort on the land of Ireland. That has been done during the years through the agency of the Land Commission, which operated in a number of ways. They acquired land that came on the market for sale or they acquired land which was not being worked or used as it should have been.
For some years past the Land Commission acquired about 30,000 or 35,000 acres of land per year but since the change of Government the whole policy has been changed. I noticed this very dramatic change in the past two or three years. For example, as I pointed out in my question, the number of section 40 notices dropped from 118 in the period May-October 1977 and 197 in the period May-October 1978 to a mere 22 in 1979. That means that no steps have been taken to acquire any land in the period May-October 1979, because these section 40 notices initiate acquisition proceedings. From my experience in my constituency I know that land that comes on the market and which should be acquired by the Land Commission for the relief of congestion and for the enlargement of farms that could be made viable is being bought by large farmers who have enough land and by speculators who wish to invest their money in land. The latter are not farmers but they are buying land as an investment. The result is that farmers with 30 acres or 35 acres of land who want more land have no way of getting it. The Minister of State is aware of this. He knows the position in County Galway. So long as the Land Commission stands idly by and does not prevent the purchase of land by these cheque book farmers at prices the small farmer cannot afford the situation will remain critical. What is happening is not in the national interest.
About two years ago the former Minister for Agriculture, Deputy Gibbons, told this House that he was introducing a new Bill that would replace the present land policy and would ensure—I think he said by taxation or by some other method—that land would not pass into the wrong hands. He said the small farmer would not be outbid. Today we heard from the Minister that the matter is still only under consideration, and he could not give us an idea when the Bill would be introduced. I do not know what will be in the Bill, but it seems to me that it could be two or three years before it is put on the Statute Book. In the meantime land is passing out of the hands of the small farmers who need it badly.
As a matter of fact, the position has been aggravated because there has been a kind of snap and grab raid. These people who want to acquire land as an investment or to acquire more land than they need see that now is the opportune time. They have heard about this Bill coming into operation in the future. They want to be sure of getting their hands on land that comes on the market before the Bill comes into effect.
The Minister conceded in the House today, and it has been conceded elsewhere, that the Land Commission is now concentrating on dividing land on hands and, in effect, not acquiring any land. The Minister could not pretend otherwise because any Deputy with experience of land acquisition knows that the first step in acquisition is the serving of a section 40 notice. The records of the House show, out of the mouth of the Minister that these notices are not being served. I think it was Deputy Gilhawley who got a letter from the Minister's Department to the effect that the Land Commission was virtually closed down as regards acquisition.
I urge the Minister to leave the present machinery working and to operate it until such time as he replaced it with effective machinery to protect the small farmer, until he replaces it with legislation and enactments that will as effectively protect the small farmer as the present Land Commission has been doing. People may say the Land Commission operates slowly and that they do not like the land bonds with which it pays but they cannot say that it has not been effective in protecting the land for the purpose of increasing the acreage of small farmers and making their holdings viable.
It is not good enough for a Minister to say that he is thinking about introducing a Bill, that it is a very complex matter and requires much consideration. That is what we were told by the predecessor of the present senior Minister shortly after the last election, but we now know that nothing has been done, that it is still being considered. I want to put on record that for all practical purposes the Land Commission has gone out of business and is slowly winding down. The Minister says he is disposing of land on hand and not acquiring any. That is the same as a closing down sale, just like a man who intends going out of business, who sells off the stock on hands and does not buy in any more. That is what the Land Commission is doing.
I am really concerned for farmers who come to me and ask if we can get the Land Commission to acquire a particular farm going on the market. I say that I am sorry that I cannot, that I do not believe the Land Commission will acquire it. I advise them to buy the land themselves. They say they cannot, that it will go for more than they can afford and will be bought by people from the town, in some cases bought by people across the Border or bought by large farmers nearby. The Minister knows what I am talking about. It is not as if he were a Minister who did not understand. I appeal to him to use his influence with the Government to get this business stopped, to get the Land Commission going again until it is replaced by better or at least equally good machinery.
