asked the President if he is aware that awards of the Right Honourable the Recorder made last November have not yet been paid.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. [ORAL ANSWERS.] - NON-PAYMENT OF AWARDS.
The facts are as stated. The Deputy is well aware that in a number of cases the Minister for Finance has not yet been furnished with the Recorder's awards. Some of the reports actually furnished have been held up pending the passage of the Damage to Property (Compensation) (Amendment) Bill, and it is expected that as a result of that enactment the rate of discharge of awards can be somewhat expedited from this out. The principal cause of the delay is, however, the congestion of business in Green Street, which is entirely due to the immense amount of work necessarily involved in the hearing of the 2,500 cases lodged. I feel bound to add that the difficulty has been to some extent aggravated by the necessity for careful examination of the reports and bills of costs prepared by the solicitors for the applicants.