Amendments Nos. 3 and 4 on the Order Paper, in the name of Senator Johnson, are out of order as being outside the scope of the Bill as read a Second Time.
Acquisition of Land (Allotments) (Amendment) Bill, 1934—Committee.
Cathaoirleach
Sections 1 to 5 agreed to.
SECTION 6.
(1) Whenever—
(a) a local authority has exercised in respect of allotments the powers conferred on them by either of the two immediately preceding sections, or
(b) the Minister has made a grant under the next following section in respect of allotments to enable seeds, manures, potato spraying materials or agricultural implements to be provided free of charge therefor,
any inspector (subject to production by him if so required of his authority in writing as an inspector) may enter upon and inspect any of the said allotments and, in respect of any allotment for which seeds, manures, potato spraying materials or agricultural implements have been provided as aforesaid, may also inspect any such seeds, manures, potato spraying materials or agricultural implements.
I move amendment No. 1:—
Section 6, sub-section (1). After the word "Minister" in line 57 to insert the words "for Agriculture."
This is a drafting amendment.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 6, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
SECTION 7.
(1) The Minister for Agriculture with the sanction of the Minister for Finance may, as and when he shall think proper, make out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas a grant of such amount as he shall think proper—
(a) to any local authority, for the purpose of enabling such local authority to supply, free of cost, to unemployed persons to whom lettings of allotments have been made by such authority under the principal Act as amended by this Act seeds, manures and potato spraying materials for use in such allotments, and to provide agricultural implements for use by such unemployed persons free of cost for the cultivation of such allotments, and
I move amendment No. 2:—
Section 7, sub-section (1). To delete in line 40 the words "said Minister" and to substitute therefor the words "Minister for Agriculture."
Amendment agreed to.
Amendments 3 and 4 ruled out of order.
Section 7, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 8 and 11 agreed to.
SECTION 12.
I move amendment No. 5, as follows:—
New section. Before Section 12 to insert a new section as follows:—
12.—Every regulation made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution annulling such regulation is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after such regulation is laid before it such regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such regulation.
This is the usual section to provide for the laying of regulations on the Table. My attention was drawn to the omission in the Dáil and I promised to have an amendment to this effect moved in this House.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 12, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Section 13 agreed to.
Question proposed: "That the Title be the Title of the Bill."
I fully accept your ruling, a Chathaoirligh, with reference to my two amendments. However, it may not be inopportune to urge the Minister to use his influence with the other Ministers administering Bills affected by this Bill to give effect to the purposes and ideas embodied in the two amendments which have been ruled out. I am quite sure that the value of this Bill will be minimised unless the unemployed persons likely to be concerned in the working of the Bill are assured beforehand that, by the proper cultivation of their plots, they are not going to suffer through the administration of the Unemployment Assistance Act. Unless the spirit of these amendments is adopted in the working of the other Acts, the value of this Act will be lost to a great extent.
There is another matter to which I should like to call the attention of the House. Under Section 7 of the Bill provision is made for free grants of seeds, manures, potato spraying materials and implements, but that is confined by the terms of the sub-section (1) (a) to persons to whom allotments have been made.
Cathaoirleach
Could the Senator not bring this up on Report Stage?
It might not be possible for me to bring it up on Report Stage, or it might be ruled out. Section 7 (1) (a) provides that the Minister for Agriculture with the sanction of the Minister for Finance may when he thinks proper make a grant "(a) to any local authority for the purpose of enabling such local authority to supply free of cost to unemployed persons to whom lettings of allotments have been made by such authority under the Principal Act, as amended by this Act, seeds, manures," etc. That is confined to persons to whom allotments have been made under the Principal Act. I am asked by a clerk of an urban district council, as representing his council, to endeavour to have included in the beneficial provisions of the section a provision enabling a grant to be made to persons who already have allotments in a town, or within the boundary of an urban area, but with which they are not able to deal on account of being unemployed. I ask would it be possible to bring in an amendment so as to enable a grant to be made to persons of that class who have land already but, owing to being unemployed, are unable to purchase seeds and manures.
Cathaoirleach
I am afraid you will find it very difficult.
Perhaps, but this is the proper time, I think, to bring it forward.
Cathaoirleach
You probably would want to amend the Title of the Bill.
Yes, if the Minister would consider the matter.
Cathaoirleach
If the Minister considers the matter perhaps he would advise the Senator as to the nature of the amendment to be put down.
Report Stage ordered for next Wednesday.