asked the Minister for Finance whether he will state if all the applicants for repayment of the Dáil Eireann Loan, 1919-1920, whose names are registered have now been repaid, and, if not, when it is proposed to have them paid; whether he will further state what steps, if any, have been taken to deal with the unregistered applicants.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dáil Eireann Loan.
Apart from applications received during the past few weeks, which are still under examination, repayment has been authorised to all subscribers whose applications for repayment contained particulars corresponding with those recorded in the books of my Department. With regard to the final part of the question, the Deputy will appreciate that the steps which may appropriately be taken in a particular case must depend upon the circumstances. In general, however, applicants whose names are not recorded in the list of subscribers which was compiled when the Loan was raised are invited to produce evidence in support of their claims. Efforts have also been made by my Department to obtain particulars of subscribers in respect of certain amounts which were remitted to the Dáil Department of Finance but for which the names of the subscribers were not furnished.
I would like to ask the Minister if he is aware that in Roscommon about half the subscribers have not been paid. The assumption is that the money had not been paid in. About a year ago I understood from the Minister himself that he considered it would be necessary to set up some sort of machinery to investigate claims that had been made. I know that in some parts of West Roscommon there are some people who are very doubtful as to whether their money was ever paid in or not.
As the Deputy may be aware, notice has been given with regard to the final date for receiving applications. When the position is reviewed after the expiry of that date, we will consider whether some new procedure, by way of tribunal or otherwise, should not at once be set going. The position is that, taking the country as a whole, about three-quarters of the loan has been repaid. At the moment I could not tell the Deputy what the exact position is in regard to Roscommon, but I could inform him later. It may be that we cannot get much further with the present machinery or that progress will be too slow with it, but almost immediately consideration will be given with regard to what further steps should be taken to clear up the remainder.