Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 19 Feb 1930

Vol. 33 No. 4

In Committee on Finance. - Vote No. 14—Property Losses Compensation.

The President

I move:—

Go ndeontar suim bhreise ná raghaidh thar £100,000 chun íochta an Mhuirir a thiocfidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1930, chun íocaíochtanna i dtaobh mille no díobháil do mhaoin a dineadh i rith na tréimhse 21adh Eanair, 1919, go 12adh Bealtaine, 1923, go huile, fé sna hAchtanna um Dhíobháil do Mhaoin (Cúiteamh), 1923 go 1926, agus ar shlite eile; agus mar gheall ar dhamáiste do mhaoin, no cailliúint maoine, agus íocaíochtanna tré shlánú no tré aisíoc fén Acht Slánaíochta, 1924, agus chun deontaisí d'íoc a socruíodh a íoc de bhárr mola an Property Losses (Ireland) Committee, 1916, mar chúiteamh i bhfoirgintí a milleadh i mBaile Atha Cliath i rith Seachtain na Cásca, 1916.

That a supplementary sum not exceeding £100,000 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1930, for payments in respect of destruction of, or injuries to, property within the period 21st January, 1919, to 12th May, 1923, inclusive, under the Damage to Property (Compensation) Acts, 1923 to 1926, and otherwise; and in respect of damage to or loss of property and payments by way of indemnification or recoupment under the Indemnity Act, 1924, and for payment of grants awarded on the recommendation of the Property Losses (Ireland) Committee, 1916, as compensation for buildings destroyed in Dublin during Easter Week, 1916.

Mr. Davin

On a point of procedure, I take it the Minister for Finance is responsible to the House for this Estimate.

The President

Any Minister.

An Ceann Comhairle

Yes. The Minister for Finance is now present, but Deputies will have to realise that Ministers are interchangeable units. The fact that they have collective responsibility means that one Minister may answer for another. In order to get that particular point— quite apart from the particular motion we are now on—it should be stated that the Executive Council is a body having collective responsibility and, therefore, it is quite in order for one Minister to answer for another. There is no doubt at all about that.

Mr. Davin

Unless Deputies can get an assurance before this Vote is moved that the Minister responsible, whoever he is, I presume the Minister for Finance, will stay in the House to answer any questions put to him through the Chair, it is useless to proceed with a discussion of this kind.

Mr. Blythe

I should say that I do not feel bound to answer any questions which Deputies may put to me. If I think it wise to answer them I will do so, and, if I do not answer, the House can draw whatever conclusion it likes and can show its disapproval accordingly. I think it is an entirely ridiculous doctrine to say that a Minister must answer. If he fails to answer I presume that the presumption will be that he cannot answer, so that he and his Party will suffer accordingly. The presumption that he must stand, or rather sit, to attention throughout a debate is, I think, wrong. As the Ceann Comhairle has said, I think that any Minister may at any time answer for the Minister who may be chiefly concerned with a particular Vote. As a rule I sit in the House during a debate in which I am concerned, but I will not undertake to sit in the House during any particular debate.

In regard to the Vote just moved, Deputies will remember that in almost every year up to this considerable sums were voted for compensation in excess of the sums that were actually proved to be required. Generally at the beginning of the year we entertained hopes in regard to the progress of reconstruction which were not realised. The result was that large sums in most years remained a surplus in the end. Last year it was determined to cut down the sum asked for property losses compensation in accordance with the lessons that had been learned by previous experience. The year, however, in which we cut the Estimate down proved to be the year in which there was actually a considerable spurt in reconstruction. The result is that the sum now asked for is required. Practically all the excess sum is required for reconstruction by the holders of ordinary post-Truce awards. An excess sum of £5,000 is required for reconstruction where compensation goes to the Board of Works in respect of destroyed premises of various kinds. Attempts were made this year, as in previous years, to get the holders of awards to speed up reconstruction, and it happened that in this particular year these efforts were more successful than they were in previous years.

Vote put and agreed to.