The purposes of this Bill are simple. Senator Comyn thought there was something complicated in it. The position is this, that the Bill is introduced to enable rural sanitary authorities to go ahead with certain public health works that they are prevented from proceeding with because of the statutory limitations placed on their borrowing. Under Section 238 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, it was provided that the sum granted by the sanitary authority, whether urban or rural, for the purpose of carrying out public health works would be limited to twice the rateable valuation of the area concerned. That put a salutary restriction on unlimited borrowing, and it was necessary. It is proposed to retain that. While in the urban districts moneys borrowed for building houses under the Working Classes Acts were not included in the amount, it put a limitation on their borrowing powers under the Public Health Act, and where, in a rural sanitary area, money was borrowed for building labourers' cottages, that was taken into consideration. The position exists in such places as Balbriggan and Mullingar, towns that are not sanitary authorities, that if they desire to carry out water or sewerage schemes they are actually prohibited by the amount they can borrow by reason of the fact that they have built a large number of cottages. It is considered that the time is gone when that limitation should be included in respect of rural sanitary authorities, and this Bill is to remove that restriction, so that rural sanitary authorities will be in the same position as urban sanitary authorities in respect of borrowing for building purposes.
Labourers Bill, 1930—Second Stage.
As I suspected, it is not a rural labourers Bill at all. Is there not some limitation on the amount of rate that can be levied under the Labourers Act?
There is.
I understand it is proposed to increase that limitation.
Not now. That is one of a number of matters dealing with labourers' cottages in general that I have at present under review and which will have to be dealt with subsequently. At present there is a limit of a 1/- for labourers' cottages with power to increase to 1/3. I think the rate ought to be increased. At present we are applying ourselves to the question of sanitation in respect of public health schemes.
I am very glad to know that the Minister has under consideration the question of labourers' cottages throughout the country, because I think it is a matter deserving of immediate consideration. Now that this Bill merely proposes to take away the limitation imposed and allow rural districts to go on with sanitary schemes, I on my part would have no objection whatever to the Bill. The reason I mentioned it during the discussion on another Bill was that I thought some reference would be made by the Minister to the position of labourers and labourers' cottages under the various Acts that have been passed.