I was proposing to raise a question on the adjournment regarding the Town Planning Bill, which was sent from the Seanad to the Dáil. As the Minister for Local Government and Public Health is present, it might be convenient to him and to the House if I were to raise the question now. It will be remembered that a Town Planning Bill was passed by the Seanad and sent to the Dáil in March, 1930. Before the Bill left the Seanad the Minister made a statement, which was substantially repeated in the Dáil, to the effect that it would be desirable that the Department would have time to examine the Bill and see what could be done with it in its relation to other Bills with a view either to amending it or introducing a new Bill. The intention was that the Bill should be postponed over the summer recess and taken at the end of six months. It was conceded that the Bill was of great importance and that time should be given for its consideration. The Minister told us then that the consideration of the principles underlying the Bill, or a Bill of a similar nature, had been considerably advanced. He gave us to understand that the general ideas were clearly understood in his Department and that consideration of the matter had occupied the Department for quite a long time. We naturally thought that at the end of six months from March, 1930 the matter would have been taken up in the Dáil in some form or other. We are now into July, 1931, with the prospect of an adjournment over the summer months, and there is no sign that the Dáil is about to take into consideration a Bill of importance which was sent to it by the Seanad. We should have some understanding and, if possible, a definite assurance that the Ministerial policy will be announced at the earliest possible date. Perhaps that is too loose a phrase to use and that I should say that the matter shall be taken up immediately after the resumption, whenever that resumption may be. I should like to have from the Minister some indication of his intention regarding the subject of this Bill and the treatment that it will receive in the Dáil.
The Town Planning Bill, 1929.
I am sure that the Seanad realises that I appreciated all along the interest of the Seanad in this matter. It was only an appreciation of the importance of the subject dealt with in the Seanad Bill that made me take up the attitude that I did—that the Bill should be thoroughly examined in the Department and the Parliamentary draftsman put in full control of the situation, so far as the drafting is concerned. The Department has gone very fully into the matter and the principles to be enshrined in a Planning Act have been generally agreed to by the Executive Council. The matter has been with the Parliamentary draftsman for some time and I understand that a considerable amount of progress has been made with the drafting of the measure, in spite of the fact that some very important measures claimed the draftsman's time in precedence to the Planning Bill. In so far as my intentions can be realised, the Traffic Bill will probably be introduced before the Dáil rises, with a view to dealing with that problem in the autumn. In addition, there will also have to be dealt with in the autumn an important housing measure. My intention is that the Planning Bill shall be passed through the Oireachtas at the same time. So far as my intention, backed up with a considerable amount of Departmental and personal work, can achieve anything, the Seanad will have an opportunity of dealing with the planning measure together with these other two measures in the autumn.