I move: That the Bill be now read a Second Time.
This Bill is being introduced to amend and extend the Gaeltacht Housing Act of 1929, which was the Principal Act dealing with the Gaeltacht housing. The 1929 Act, which was the first and Principal Act, made provision for the sum of £250,000; subsequently under the amending Act of 1931, an additional £100,000 was provided, making a total provision for grants and loans for housing in the Gaeltacht of £350,000. The present Act proposes to increase this amount by an additional sum not exceeding £300,000, thus increasing the amount under the Principal Act to a sum not exceeding £650,000.
Section 3, sub-section (1) increases the former maximum grant of £80 in the case of occupiers of holdings of a poor law valuation of £10 and under as follows:—(a) in the case of an occupier of a holding of a valuation of £5 or less, the maximum grant is increased to £90; (b) in the case of an occupier of a holding of a valuation of more than £5 but not exceeding £10, the maximum grant is increased to £85; (c) in the case of an occupier of a holding of a valuation exceeding £10, the maximum grant remains at the former figure of £80. In determining the amount of the valuation of the holding, regard will be had to all the holdings in the possession of the applicant, if he should own other holdings than that on which the existing dwelling stands.
Sub-section (2) limits the amount of grant and loan that may be made under the Principal Act to a sum not exceeding £160. By this sub-section in cases where an increase in grant is given, the loan (the maximum amount of which was formerly £80) shall be correspondingly reduced so that the total amount of grant and loan shall not exceed the £160. Experience of the Principal Act has shown that there are substantial numbers of poorer Irish-speaking homesteads in the Gaeltacht unable to avail of the Act through inability to provide the money required for the erection of a house over and above the amount of the grant or to assume liability for a loan of the amount necessary. The increase of the grant in the cases of poorer persons is designed to meet this difficulty. At the same time the reduction as from 1st October next in the rate of interest payable on loans from 5½ per cent. to 4¾ per cent. will operate to make the burden of a loan in all cases less onerous.
Section 4 restricts the operation of the Act to Irish-speaking households, i.e., homesteads where the Irish language is in habitual use. It is felt that as the primary purpose of the Bill is for the benefit of the Irish-speaking districts, the operation of the Act should be confined to Irish-speaking households. The Local Government housing provisions are considered adequate to cover all non-Irish-speaking households, i.e., those in which English is in habitual use. While the financial assistance under the latter Act (the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932) is not substantially less advantageous, the administration of the Gaeltacht Act extends to the Irish-speaking families a larger measure of co-operation in the building of the houses, the absence of which co-operation in the past had proved an effective barrier against participation by those families in the advantages of earlier Housing Acts. That circumstance is the justification for this Act and the explanation why it would be impracticable to deal with the problem of housing in the Gaeltacht through the instrumentality of the general housing legislation of the Saorstát. The surveyor of the Department supervises the selection and laying out of the site. As soon as the stones and other materials, which the head of the family can himself supply, are on the site, an instalment of the grant is made to enable him to engage the skilled labour. The Department organises a scheme of combined purchase of the materials which the head of the family cannot himself provide. Under this scheme he is able to procure these materials at specially cheap rates. The quality of the materials is ensured by the Department's surveyor, who is empowered to reject any defective goods. The Department arranges, where desired, to guarantee the payment of the supplier's account out of the grant or loan in order to establish the credit of the purchaser. By these means the small-holder is protected at every point against excessive charges, defective materials and other risks. The administration of the Act is carried out in the Irish language. The surveyors with whom the Irish-speaking families in the Gaeltacht have to deal are able to discuss the business with them in their own language and use that language only.
Section 5 repeals the provision in the Principal Act by which three-fifths of the available funds were earmarked for certain areas to the extent to which those areas could absorb this proportion. Since the passage of the Principal Act special attention has been devoted to these areas and a marked impression has been made on housing conditions there. While the policy which underlay the provision will be continued it is felt that the provision itself is no longer necessary and might tend to hamper the effective administration of the Act.
Section 6 repeals the Amending Act of 1931 and makes the funds provided more readily available for the provision of houses in the Gaeltacht. The Amending Act of 1931 imposed certain restrictions by the Department of Finance and it is felt that these are not now necessary and might unnecessarily delay the operation of the Bill.