asked the Minister for Agriculture who is eligible to purchase land.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Purchase Eligibility.
5.
In general, agricultural land can be purchased without reference to the Land Commission. However, the consent of the Land Commission is required where (a) subdivision of the land is involved; (b) the purchaser is not a qualified person within the meaning of section 45 of the Land Act, 1965; (c) a notice under section 40 of the Land Act, 1923, has been served or proceedings for compulsory acquisition have been instituted.
Is the Minister aware of a media report that over 50 per cent of land sold last year on the open market went to non-farmers and companies?
I am not so sure about companies, but under the Constitution non-farmers cannot be prevented from purchasing land.
Is the Minister aware that at present the Land Commission are not involved in the purchase of land that comes on the open market? Will he instruct them to intervene in the purchases of land by non-farmers?
As I said before, the activities of the Land Commission in the area of land purchase or acquisition have virtually stopped.
What is the Minister doing to try to get land sold on the open market into the hands of farmers?
We are making every effort to organise groups of farmers who may be interested in land which comes on the market in their immediate area. Land Commission inspectors have been instructed for some time past to help such groups of people to purchase land.
(Limerick West): Is the Minister aware that land which comes on the open market is getting into the hands of non-farmers? Is he further aware that the acquisition powers of the Land Commission are being suspended by his Department and the safeguards which were in operation before are not now being implemented? Has he any plans to ensure that land which comes on the open market will go to farmers who are trained to operate the land?
That is a very wide question.
(Limerick West): Answer it.
I am sorry. I get annoyed when I am told to answer a question before I have a chance to answer it.
We get annoyed, too, but we do not get any answers.
Perhaps the Deputy gets annoyed because he does not get the type of answer he would like to get. I am here to give Deputies information but not to facilitate all their whims.
We are very receptive too.
The safeguards which existed in the past exist today. They have not been removed. Wherever possible the Land Commission will step in if they feel the unauthorised purchasing of land by companies is taking place. It is the constitutional right of any citizen to purchase land. That has always been the case and there is no change there.
(Limerick West): Is the Minister aware that in the 1980 White Paper this and the necessary curbs to avoid what the Minister has just mentioned were included?
What may be suggested and what can be done might be two different things. As a result of our membership of the EEC, not only can Irish citizens, farmers or non-farmers purchase land, but——
(Limerick West): I know that.
——members of the other states can purchase land here if they can prove their right of establishment; in other words, that they intend to come to live here and work the land.
Does the Minister not regret the decision to discontinue the policy of land acquisition by the Land Commission? Would it have been better to keep their options open so that in certain cases they could step in and buy land?
I do not wish to mislead the Deputy. We still have that right. If there are cases where the acquisiton of land would lead to a more orderly division of a general land bank in an area, the Land Commission will step in. It is not a case of a full stop as far as acquisition is concerned. There will be acquisition in certain cases where there are problems.
It appears that we are getting into a discussion on land purchase and sale. It is a very wide subject.
That is the question.
That kind of debate could go on for more than one day. The House has been told that a Bill is being introduced this month which will deal with leasing. In the Chair's opinion that will form a platform for a wide debate on the whole land problem. It would be more reasonable to reserve the discussion until then instead of having a barking match across the House that will not get anyone anywhere.
It is not my intention to bark across the floor. I hope anything I say is constructive.
If the Deputy was in the Public Gallery he might get a different picture.
I will leave the people in the Public Gallery to judge for themselves. How successful has this new scheme of the Land Commission been in supporting groups of farmers? Are they supported financially or just given advice?
This has been going on for well over a year, it is not new. Financial support does not arise.
How successful has it been?
Relatively successful.
The Minister is at variance with his officials because they said the Land Commission are not in the business of purchasing land and the Minister has said that in some cases they do purchase land. Could the Minister clarify the position?
I clarified the position. I said that the Land Commission are not buying estates and land except where a problem arises in a general area where they already have land.
That is not true.
Can the Minister say why a sum of only £1 million was allocated to the Land Commission this year compared with £3.9 million last year?
That is still an appreciable sum of money.
It is one-quarter the amount we got last year.
Is the Minister's Department prepared to assist in the sub-division of land among smallholders in cases where they are prepared to provide the money themselves?
Yes.
Since this Government took office there has been a complete slowing down in the amount of land acquired by the Land Commission. Is he now aware that his Department are encouraging the group purchase of land——
It is a very roundabout way of asking a question and it is repetition.
When we make representation on behalf of small farmers we have been told that the Land Commission are recommending purchase. Is there any statutory power available to him or the Land Commission to ensure that land which goes up for sale can be made available for group purchase to local farmers? Does he agree that recommending group purchase in cases where farmers cannot compete financially with non-farming interests is useless? If they have not got the statutory power, would the Minister now consider bringing in legislation to ensure that the Land Commission could put a stay on land so that it could be made available to small group holders?
The Deputy could make that speech on the Bill to which I referred earlier.
That argument is as old as Methuselah. The problem has always existed. The Deputy is recommending that we should interfere with the constitutional right of an individual to purchase land. I reject the allegation that since this Government came to office there has been a slowing down with regard to the purchase of land. Several years ago there was a deliberate policy by Fianna Fáil to stop the purchase of land by the Land Commission.
(Interruptions.)
Do Deputies really want to carry on Question Time in this way?
(Limerick West): The Minister is not giving any answers.
We are as far away from this question as we could possibly get.