I beg to move:—"That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendments 1 and 2." I am moving to agree with all the amendments made by the Seanad. The first and second really stand together. The point was raised that a longer period of notice than one month was required, but when this point came to be argued the discussion really refined down to longer notice in cases where land on which occupied dwellinghouses stood had to be acquired. The Seanad compromised on a rather more comprehensive amendment in this form that the words "not less than" should be inserted before "one" in Section 4 (2), line 8, and, in addition, after the word "month's" there should be inserted "or, in the case of an occupied dwelling-house, three months'."
DAIL IN COMMITTEE. - SHANNON ELECTRICITY BILL, 1925—FROM THE SEANAD.
I beg to move:—"That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendments 3 and 4."
It was pointed out in the Seanad that as the section ran the Minister may construct and maintain all such embankments, piers, etc., but that under that a very obvious intepretation would be that I might be driven to construct for the purposes of the works, and I might then refuse to maintain the works which I had constructed. An amendment was suggested that the words "and maintain" should be changed to some such form as "may construct and, having constructed, shall maintain," but amendments 3 and 4 achieved that end in another way.
I move:—"That the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendments 5 and 6." These also run in double harness. They are exactly of the same effect with regard to Section 9 in respect of the drainage of lands, simply deleting the words "and maintain" and putting in a sub-section making it compulsory to maintain.
Amendments 7 and 8 are again a pair. It seemed to be desired by the Seanad that some definite term should be put upon the Minister with regard to the time within which the account should be rendered, and the first amendment proposed was, I think, to have the account prepared within two or three months of the end of the financial year; but by agreement that was extended to six months, and this carried out the agreement. I move: "That the Committee agree with the Seanad in these amendments."
No. 9 has a very simple object. It is to protect ancient monuments, and the protection that is afforded is set out in the amendment, which brings in the Ancient Monuments Protection Acts, 1882 and 1892, which are the two Acts having reference to this particular matter operative in the Saorstát at the moment. I move: "That the Committee agree with the Seanad in the amendment."