Deputy Noel Treacy has been given permission to raise on the Adjournment the urgency for a directive by the Minister for Agriculture to the Land Commission to acquire a 700-acre farm in Galway East.
Adjournment Debate. - County Galway Estate.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to raise this very important matter affecting my constituency. I am delighted that the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Deputy Connaughton, is here because I am sure his heart is with the people of Galway East. Surely between the two of us we can do something to alleviate the situation there.
I appeal to the Minister for Agriculture and the Government to ensure that this farm of some 673 acres in the townlands of Ballyhoose, Caltragh and Kylemore, Lawrencetown, Ballinasloe, Galway, popularly and officially known as the Kenny estate, be acquired by the Land Commission and allocated on the standard basis — either a lease back, sell back or rent basis — to the local farmers. Seldom do the people of the west have an opportunity like this to avail of so much good quality land in the south-east area of my constituency. This farm is bounded by approximately 30 congested farmers, at least half of whom have a deep interest in acquiring this land. Adjacent to that we have 36 small cottiers, people who live in council houses or former council houses and have a maximum one acre of land at their disposal. I am asking that the Minister of State should exercise his right through the Land Commission to purchase this farm. I have taken up this matter with the Land Commission in Dublin and in Galway and with both the Minister and the Minister of State. I have tried to raise it by way of ordinary and Private Notice Questions and I am deeply grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for this opportunity to raise the matter now. I have always got the stock answer that the Land Commission are no longer acquiring land. That is immaterial because the functions of the Land Commission are specific, as laid down in legislation. No Bill has come before this House to change the function, policy or structure of the Land Commission. While there may be a change in administrative policy at this time, that does not deprive the Land Commission of their powers or functions.
I speak on behalf of those who want to acquire land. I do not want to tie the hands of the Minister of State, the Department or the Land Commission. All I am asking is that this estate should be purchased by the Land Commission. The Minister of State has undoubtedly garnered much experience and expertise during the past few years while he has been in charge of the Land Commission. I compliment him on his efforts but this is a major test and a golden opportunity for him to put into action on the ground in his own constituency the policy which he has promoted during the past three or four years. This is a vital opportunity for the Minister of State to use this farm as a blue print for land restructuring and redeployment.
The Land Commission should acquire the land and then, with the expertise of the Minister, it could be sold in certain cases to farmers who could afford to buy it — there are a few but not many who would be able to do so. Other portions of the land could be leased back or rented back in the normal Land Commission manner or held in a land bank until such time as it would be possible to carry out some restructuring in the county. I know some people ten or 20 miles away who would be delighted to have a 60-acre or 80-acre farm there and would give up their own land to be reallocated by the Land Commission. There are many options available to the Minister and I do not want to tie his hands. Basically I am here in the interest of the farmers in my area. We have a dual responsibility to our constituents to ensure that this opportunity is not lost. Such an opportunity will probably not occur again in our day.
The precedent has already been established. I see one of the Land Commission officials here and I am sure it would not be too difficult for him to delve into the files and produce the evidence that some years ago the Land Commission acquired the major part of this estate and reallocated it among the local small farmers. This is an unfinished job and the Minister of State has an opportunity to proceed with the acquisition of this land and its reallocation to many people who have not viable farms and cannot make a livelihood out of agriculture in their own area.
This farm is situated two miles from Lawrencetown, five miles from Eyrecourt, eight miles from Banagher, 12 miles from Ballinasloe and just one hour's drive from Shannon Airport. Its proximity to those towns indicates that it is very close to the River Shannon. There are many congested farmers in this area; those at the bottom of the scale would have 15 or 18 acres while those at the other end would have 30 or 40 acres. There are some exceptional cases of farmers who have huge amounts of land but these are very well-to-do people, very good farmers, who are not interested in this situation.
The Minister of State, Deputy Connaughton, has clearly shown the small farmers what the group purchase scheme is all about. These farmers would not have amongst them the actual resources to avail of the provisions of the group purchase scheme in a manner that would enable the Minister of State to acquire the lands and reallocate them in that manner. The State would need to step in to take over that land bank and reallocate it. I want to make it clear that I have known the vendor of this farm for many years. I conducted business with this man on many occasions. He is a very decent man and has a constitutional right to get the maximum price for his farm. I would not want to inhibit that man from getting the maximum price. I am aware also that the State has a constitutional function to play in this matter. As officers of the State, the Minister of State and the Land Commission would have to ensure that the proper constitutional rights of the vendor are protected. I want to ensure that will be the outcome.
There may be a shortage of cash. Goodness knows, after yesterday's budget and the way in which agriculture has been totally neglected — with the allocation of funds to the farm modernisation scheme again cut back, the money not having been voted — it is obvious that there is not much money around or indeed much good will towards agriculture. Last weekend at a meeting in Lawrencetown, in the presence of the Minister of State I said — as one who has had the privilege of representing farmers on behalf of my party in Europe in the past year, having gone to the European Investment Bank and talked to the people there — that I knew the money was available. I know that the goodwill of that bank is available to this country. We have a very high credit rating. There is nothing that £1 million would not do. Certainly £1 million would purchase and fence this farm, making it available to local farmers. If the State is not prepared, from its own resources, or if the good will does not exist to provide the £1 million required to acquire this land in the interest of these farmers, then it should be remembered that money is available at 5 per cent to this State or to any agency of Government here. All we must guarantee is the exchange risk. With our punt so strong I believe the exchange risk would amount to perhaps 1 per cent, 2 per cent or, at most, 3 per cent. Therefore, we are talking about money borrowed at a maximum rate of 8 per cent and definitely no more than 10 per cent. If the Government borrow money from the European Investment Bank, if that £1 million forms part of a figure accumulating to something in the region of £160 million, we will get back into our Exchequer in the region of £16 million to £20 million as a direct cash incentive from the EC to stimulate economic growth here. Therefore nobody can maintain that those funds are not available.
It should be remembered that as at 31 December last the Minister for Agriculture, in his efforts to remedy the disastrous financial situation obtaining here, crucified Irish agriculture, perhaps unwittingly, returning out of the 1985 budgetary provisions a figure of £27 million into the Central Exchequer. Certainly £1 million of that £27 million would do a wonderful job in this area. Nobody can maintain unequivocally or categorically that the money is not there, that money cannot be got. All we need is the goodwill and the structure devised to implement what I seek.
I feel very sad that the Land Commission is slowly being ground to a halt. They made a major contribution to land mobility here over the years. Many people would contend that land mobility has been much too slow. Obviously it has been. Politicians on all sides of this House, probably past and present, must take some of the blame for that, the Exchequer, the public service and so on who had a role to play in this. On many an occasion it was economic circumstances which dictated the course of action to be taken. I believe the Land Commission formed a safety valve, a security for Irish farmers who needed land to make a living from it. Now the position is that local farmers cannot survive, make a livelihood from farming or sustain their families on the land because the amount of land at their disposal is much too small. The size of holdings range from 15 acres to perhaps a maximum of 40 acres approximately. Such farmers must avail of work whenever and wherever it is available. Usually they go up the road to Clonfert, only a few miles away, and work for Bord na Móna. We are all aware of the cutbacks imposed on the activities of Bord Na Móna. I do not know the reasons therefor. But these small farmers, working as seasonal workers with Bord na Móna, because of the inclement weather in 1985 and the cutbacks imposed, were put under protective notice in 1985. There is also the fact that the Ballyforan briquette factory at the northern end of the constituency would have a major effect on bog development in this area. Therefore, the fact that there is no activity taking place there slows down activity in the locality, denuding the locality of the extra industrial activity that would create the few extra jobs which would help to sustain people on the land and families in their homes.
The position in modern Ireland is that there is such high unemployment that we are rapidly moving towards a figure of 250,000 people out of work——
The Deputy has covered a very wide field. He was marginally in order but if he is going to deal now with national unemployment certainly he is not.
No, a Cheann Comhairle, I am taking it in the context of the local scene. But thank you for bringing me back to base because my heart is in Lawrencetown and that is where I want to be now. There is a high level of unemployment across the country. Since our advent into Europe, with the major progress made in education here since the sixties——
What has that got to do with the motion?
What I want to say is that we have educated people for white and blue collar jobs that do not exist. There is also a major exodus from the land because young people do not foresee any guaranteed income therefrom. We have experienced difficulties in Europe, with levies, mountains and the superlevy.
I am honoured to share my constituency with the Minister of State present, also with Deputy Kitt and Senators Hussey and Burke. I am appealing collectively, on behalf of all my political colleagues, to the Minister of State. This is a major opportunity for him to reverse that exodus from the land, to create hopeful opportunities, stability in agriculture, so that at least one person from each small farm in that area can be guaranteed a future in agriculture if these lands are acquired before it is too late. I appeal to the Minister to examine this matter in a positive, flexible manner, exercising his powers and duties on behalf of his constituents in this area of east Galway.
There were many matters raised by Deputy N. Treacy I would love to debate with him on any public platform but because of the constraints on time imposed on me I can deal with only some here. There are answers to many of his questions. However, here I shall deal with the principle of the motion before the House about the Kenny estate at Lawrencetown.
First, together with the other public representatives of the area I was at a wellattended meeting at the Lawrencetown Centre which included many of my friends. The House can be assured that anything humanly possible that can be done will be and will have my undivided attention, as the people of Lawrencetown are fully aware.
What is involved here, by Irish standards, is a very large farm that has come up for public auction. I should like to put on the record of the House, as I have done so many times in the last two or three years here, that there has been a major change in the direction in which the Land Commission are going. That did not commence in the last two or three years. Lest anybody take a different view or perspective of the proceedings I should say that in the area about which we are speaking, that part of Lawrencetown, it is at least eight years since any other land was acquired by the Land Commission. Of course, this period spanned the terms of office of several Governments.
As will be known, various Ministers for Agriculture over the years have proposed that the agricultural scene might be better served by a new land restructuring policy. In my view there is a better way of doing it. Some of these proposals I brought to the floor of the House and I hope in the next few months to bring others.
I explained in detail to, I suppose, 60 farmers in Lawrencetown one night last week that there were certain aids which I would put at their disposal. I informed them that there would be certain parts of section 45 which we would look at very carefully in the interest of the purchaser whoever he or she might be. I put before them the basis of the group purchase scheme which it was decided they would do their best to work with. On that occasion I committed the entire services of the Land Commission to helping those small farmers. I am glad to say that a meeting has been held between the local Land Commission officer and the farmers who are interested. I believe also that a further meeting after the meeting of the politicians that night has shown that there is very genuine interest in that area on the part of at least 15 or 16 people who believe that they are in a position jointly to purchase a fairly substantial part of this land and that moves are afoot to use that combined strength of 15 or 16 people to act as a trading bloc to the degree that they will do the best they can to purchase that land. I have committed the Land Commission inspector to give them every possible assistance. Despite the fact that most people, naturally enough, would prefer to get land as cheaply as possible — we are all like that — when the facts were pointed out to them many of them believed genuinely that this was the best way forward.
I have no way of knowing what is going to happen before, during or after the public auction. I have almost finished because I do not want to get into a national debate on the issue and I assume that the Chair will not allow me to do so anyway. On an occasion like this it is very important to keep reality in front of us. If in the old days of the Land Commission the Kenny estate was acquired totally by the Land Commission, many people because of their off-farm income and other aspects of their lifestyle, such as larger farms and so on, would not qualify.
Let me bring Deputy Treacy back for a moment to the cottiers. Never in my lifetime have I heard that the Land Commission ever acquired land through compulsory acquisition for the relief of congestion to give land to cottiers. I know as many of the cottiers as anyone else in east Galway, and whatever scheme might be available, many of them have a deep interest in land and I would like to see more people of that nature getting land. However, I want to put it on the record of the House that our legislation was never so designed that persons who found themselves in that situation were, so to speak, the prime targets for land acquired by the Land Commission. That has been said in this House a million times in 50 years. Rightly or wrongly, that is the way successive Governments have had it and it is no different at present. The last thing I would do would be to lead any of those smallholders astray. I stood up in front of the whole lot of them in Lawrencetown the other night and told them so. I did not want to give them a popular decision on the night when they would only have to learn afterwards that the law never was, is not and probably will not be in their favour in so far as acquisition of land for the relief of congestion is concerned. Every Deputy knows that. The sooner everybody talks on those lines to those people the greater chance we will have of getting realism across.
I hope sincerely that the efforts I am making with the local farmers will bring a degree of satisfaction. I believe there are many in the area whose farming would benefit greatly, and their incomes therefore, if an additional piece of land was available for them. I was struck by the sincerity and dedication with which the meeting treated the subject in hand last week. All the moves that could be made have been made. I am keeping in daily contact with that part of the country to make sure that everything that I can do from my position, and that the Land Commission can do from theirs, will be done. The people there are aware of the deep interest I have and that everyone else has in it. I hope that extra land will come into the possession of people who (a) want it and (b) are able to work it and have shown through their farming pattern over the years that they will use the land efficiently and to great effect, which is most important from a land use point of view. Some people down there may be landless and because of the flexibility that we have introduced into the group purchase scheme they will, because they are involved in the group for the greater good, be able to acquire land under legislation that we have now. They would have found it very difficult to acquire land under any circumstances previously. I hope that when the dust settles on this problem the vast majority of people down there who want additional land will get it.
Would the Minister accept that this is a unique opportunity? Will he accept also that cow plots have been made available to landless people in the past, and is he prepared to act as a land banker to acquire this land to give the opportunity to these farmers to purchase it from him now?
That is codology and the Deputy knows it.
It is not
The Dáil adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 4 February 1986.