This Bill, which was initiated by Deputy McQuillan in the Dáil, will be welcomed by most representatives and particularly by those from rural areas, because it proposes to do something which we have all been looking forward to for a great many years. The whole question of cul-de-sac roads has been a headache to most of us for many years. In fact, it has been a headache since the passing of the 1925 Act, which took these roads from the authority of the county councils. Whether or not that was a wise step at the time, it was a fact that up to the passing of the 1925 Act these culs-de-sac were mainly leading to the houses and lands of the landlord classes. The Government then wisely decided that they should no longer be the responsibility of the county councils.
At the time that they placed the cul-de-sac roads and the responsibility for their maintenance on the landed classes they created a problem for other people who lived in these culs-de-sac. That position had continued throughout the years and it became a greater problem still when land was divided by the Land Commission and the majority of those who got the lands were then placed in the position of having to reach their homes and the land over the cul-de-sac roads. In certain cases when the Land Commission were making these cul-de-sac roads they could easily have carried them on to make them link or connecting roads which would have come under the maintenance of the county councils, but they did not do so. The result was that the people who got the land were burdened with fairly high valuations and high rates and got very little return for the rates they were paying because their cul-de-sac roads did not come within the road maintenance system.
On many occasions efforts were made to bring about a change in that condition, but these people had to continue paying their rates and seeing their neighbours who were living on the county council roads enjoying the benefits of them. The councils could undertake the maintenance and care of link or connecting roads but they could not do it with cul-de-sac roads and that problem has remained until the present time. Whether this Bill is going to meet that situation remains to be seen. It has, however, done one good thing and that is that it has taken away that part of the 1925 Act which prevented the local authorities from taking over these roads.
At the same time we have to bear in mind that the maintenance of these roads will put a heavy burden on the local authorities, and that is the objection I have to the Bill. The local authorities are already overburdened and in my own county last year there was a rate of 36/- in the £ and this year it is quite likely that it will be 37/6 if they have to take over the roads as provided for under this Bill. That would place them in the position of imposing rates which would be beyond payment at all. I know the people on these roads are entitled to the same benefits as their more fortunate neighbours living on the county council roads, but at the same time it is questionable whether they are prepared to pay the increased rates which the provisions of this Bill might cause.
It is amazing how much money can be involved when it comes to the question of construction and maintenance of cul-de-sac roads. We have seen that time and again when it came to a question of asking for grants for the repair of such roads and very often when the applicant saw the size of the grant compared with the full cost he was scared of the idea of the work. The amount of the money which the county councils would have to provide in the rates for the construction of these roads would be quite sizeable and the return from 1/- or 2/6 in the £ on the rates would not provide for a very big mileage. The county councils would have to construct foundations for these roads, many of which have not been touched for over 50 years.
That is one of the problems I see. If the Government will agree to some arrangement whereby they could pay a certain percentage towards the construction of these roads as well as maintenance, it would ease very much the burden on the ratepayers who are being asked at the present time to foot the greater percentage of the bill.
This matter was approached by the Mayo County Council some time ago when they sent a deputation to the Government. They got a sympathetic hearing to their suggestion that the Government should pay a percentage of the cost of these roads each year, but later the council received a letter from the Minister for Finance saying that until Section 25 of the 1925 Act was taken away or modified he had no power to deal with the matter in any way.
Last year at the General Council of County Councils, a body of which other Senators besides myself are members, this problem was raised again, as in many years past. The representatives of practically every county there were unanimous, first, that something should be done about it at this stage and that the people living on those roads were entitled to the benefits enjoyed by people who were living at the side of the county council roads. They were practically all unanimous also that the burden should be made as light as possible on the already overburdened ratepayers. A suggestion was put forward from representatives of upwards of a dozen county councils that legislation should be introduced whereby the Minister for Local Government and the Minister for Finance would empower the county councils to meet the applicants' portion of the contribution and to do the roads under the rural improvements scheme.
The idea was to introduce a Bill to enable each county to levy 1/- in the £ and collect £8,000 or £10,000 or perhaps £12,000 and to hold that fund practically entirely for the construction of those roads. Maintenance was not asked for because we felt it would be possible to have a rotational scheme of seven years so that at the end of that time practically all cul-de-sac roads in need of construction would be constructed, and then the councils would be able to reconstruct the first roads at much less cost. Everybody knows that it is far easier to reconstruct roads repaired seven years previously than to put a foundation on a road that has not been touched for over 50 years.
That was our idea and before this Bill goes through I propose to put down an amendment to see if it is possible to get some help for the ordinary ratepayers rather than throw practically the entire burden of these cul-de-sac roads on them.
I will say this much in favour of this Bill and of the Deputy who introduced it: it is a Bill which we all welcome. It is an opening up of something that was an eye-sore over a considerable number of years and is even more so now because we have got more modern in our methods. People who have mechanised farms along those cul-de-sac roads are just as entitled to have a good road leading to their doors as anybody else.
My only fear is that this measure will come as too much of a burden on the ratepayers who are already overburdened in every county in the Twenty-Six Counties. The people on all sides grumble. Representatives of the General Council of County Councils say that the ratepayers can stand no more. This year every county has increased the rates to meet the increases under all the different headings and it is a bit too much now to ask councillors and ratepayers to meet the entire cost of those roads. That is the fear I have—that the good intended by this Bill will not be achieved. I would much prefer to see a Bill introduced whereby a certain burden would be placed on the State for the construction of those roads, even if the entire maintenance cost would be left to the county councils afterwards. We know that a mile of roadway leading into a group of houses will cost much less in maintenance than a mile of roadway that is a link road, the property of the county council.
At any rate I will try to amend the Bill. I am doing it in all sincerity because my fear is that this will be too big a burden for councils all over Ireland to accept. We are told, of course, that there is no obligation on the councils, that they can accept or throw it out. But we all know that it is something that is wanted in every county. I think it would be better if we approached this matter properly and got some financial assistance from the State other than that which they will give us in the ordinary course for maintenance of our roads.