This Supplementary Estimate is necessary to meet anticipated excesses on certain sub-heads of the Vote, i.e.:— sub-head C—Incidental Expenses, £300; sub-head G—Telegrams and Telephones, £240; sub-head I— Improvement of Estates, etc., £80,000; sub-head J—Advances to meet deficiency of income from untenanted lands purchased under the Land Acts 1923-33, £2,000, together with expenditure under two new sub-heads, i.e.— sub-head Z1—Purchase of Tolls and Customs (Knox Gore C.D.B. Estate), £362; sub-head Z2.—Assistance to Migrants from the Gaeltacht, £300. These items amount in all to £83,202, against which are set-off anticipated savings on other sub-heads amounting to £37,252, and an anticipated excess in respect of Appropriations-in-Aid amounting to £7,800, leaving the net amount required £38,150.
The anticipated excess of £300 on sub-head C is due mainly to an increase in the cost of advertisements and the excess of £240 on sub-head G to increased payments for telegrams and telephones, both arising, in the main, from the greater activities of the Department in the course of the year.
The anticipated excess of £80,000 on sub-head I (Improvement of Estates, etc.) is due to the increased amount of work undertaken in connection with the Government's policy of proceeding as rapidly as possible with the division of untenanted land. The expenditure during the current year on roads, fences, drains, dwellinghouses and out-offices has been in excess of the average of recent years and much useful work has been done to date. The original provision under sub-head I, i.e. £250,050 contains a sum of £240,000 in respect of improvements, but the expenditure on improvement works during the current year up to the 31st January last amounted to over £251,000, and it is expected that, in consequence of the exceptional amount of work which the Department will be undertaking in connection with the division of untenanted land within the next couple of months, the total expenditure for the whole year will not be less than £320,000.
It is also anticipated that there will be an excess of about £2,000 on sub-head J. on account of the deficiency in income from untenanted land purchased under the Land Acts, 1923-33 to meet payments to the Land Bond Fund for interest on purchase moneys outstanding and to pay rates and other outgoings in respect of lands on hands pending allotment.
The untenanted lands affected by this sub-head are those which have been divided amongst allottees but have not yet been published in lists of holdings under Section 24 of the Land Act, 1931 and those lands which are still on hands awaiting allotment.
The provision under sub-head ZI— the estimated amount required is £362 —is to meet the purchase price of the Ballycastle tolls and customs on the Knox Gore Estate, County Mayo. This estate was originally purchased by the Congested Districts Board but the Ballycastle tolls and customs were excluded from the sale owing to a delay in making title. This matter has now been satisfactorily disposed of and the necessary conveyance to the Land Commission as successors to the Congested Districts Board has been made. The expenditure, however, being of an unusual type could not be charged against any of the existing sub-heads in the Land Commission Vote and in acordance with the usual practice it is being met out of this new sub-head.
The provision under sub-head Z2— estimated amount required, £300—is to meet special expenditure which will be incurred in connection with the migration of congests from the Gaeltacht to the new colonies which are being established in County Meath. The Government are anxious that these migrants should be given every possible opportunity to succeed in their new homes and, as many of them will be persons of small means, it is proposed to make provision for various needs before their arrival. As it is expected that some of the first migrants will arrive in the early spring, it is essential that a portion of each of their holdings should be cultivated on arrival. It is proposed also to give the migrants practical instruction in the form of agriculture best suited for the development of their new holdings, but that will be attended to by the Department of Agriculture and this Vote is not concerned with it.
The total of the foregoing excesses and of the two new sub-heads amounts to £83,202, which sum is off-set by savings on other sub-heads amounting to £37,252 and increased Appropriations-in-Aid of £7,800, leaving the net amount of the Estimate £38,150. The anticipated savings are spread over various sub-heads, the principal being under sub-head S. £5,000 and sub-head W. £20,000.
The anticipated saving of £5,000 on sub-head S (amount required to complete purchase proceedings pending under the Land Acts, 1903-09) is due to the fact that the sum originally provided for this service, i.e., £25,000, will not all be required this year. This sub-head provides for advances and bonus moneys payable under the Land Acts, 1903-09. The anticipated saving under sub-head W (fees payable in connection with proceedings under Section 28, Land Act, 1933) is £20,000. This sub-head provides for the payment of lodgment fees to sheriffs and county registrars in respect of warrants issued under Section 28 of the Land Act, 1933, for the recovery of unpaid instalments of land purchase annuities, etc. This is the first year in which it has been found necessary to make this provision and the amount originally inserted in the Estimate, i.e., £48,000, was necessarily conjectural. It is not anticipated that expenditure will exceed £28,000, so that there will be a saving on this service of £20,000. Small anticipated savings spread over a number of other sub-heads of the Vote account for the balance amounting to £12,252.
The estimated increase in appropriations-in-aid is due to increases under the following heads: Excess annuities, £3,000; Repayment of fees in connection with sheriffs' proceedings under Section 28 of the Land Act, 1933, £2,000; other miscellaneous items, £2,800. Excess annuities represent the recoupment of that portion of the expenditure in past years on improvement of holdings which was made repayable by means of annuities as distinct from free grants. Lodgment fees recovered by sheriffs and county registrars in connection with proceedings under Section 28 of the Land Act, 1933, are repayable by them to the Land Commission and are appropriated in aid of the Vote. The original Estimate under this head was £8,000, but it is estimated that this will now be exceeded by £2,000.
