Could the Minister give us any indication of what liabilities have been incurred under this question of compensation? I would like to know what the actual cost is, the continuing cost. Are there many people involved, still receiving benefit?
Public Business. - Air-Raid Precautions (Amendment) Bill, 1946—Committee and Final Stages.
Sections 1 to 9, inclusive, and the Title, agreed to.
Bill reported without amendment.
Agreed to take the Fourth Stage now.
Question—"That the Bill be received for final consideration"—put and agreed to.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
The expenditure for the year 1947-48 will be, approximately, £23,000.
Including compensation, mainly.
It will include compensation, of course, but other items will be included in that as well.
I am mainly interested in how much will go towards compensation. Could the Minister tell me offhand?
I could not indicate the exact amount, but it is a very small amount — only in the hundreds of pounds.
Only hundreds of pounds? That is a great tribute to the people in charge of these services who ran them voluntarily, and not only that, but incurred expense themselves running them. It is a very satisfactory position, now that it is all over, to be able to say that the amount of compensation payable to people injured is less than £1,000.
Almost every claim made was met. The claims were put forward in a proper, businesslike way and they were met in the same spirit.
It is a great tribute to the people concerned that while claims were made they should be so insignificant after a period of six years.
Question agreed to.
Bill ordered to be returned to the Dáil, without amendment.