To-day, I asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether he is aware that the Housing Scheme formulated by the Clonakilty Urban Council is being held up as a result of the Minister's refusal to sanction the appointment of the Clerk of Works selected by the Urban Council; that the Council is satisfied that the Clerk of Works whom they have selected possesses the necessary qualifications to carry out the duties efficiently; and if, in the circumstances, he will give the necessary sanction to the appointment made and allow the work to be proceeded with at once.
The reply was:—
"The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The person selected by the Clonakilty Urban District Council for the position of Clerk of Works for the proposed housing scheme in the district is aged 74 years and is in receipt of an old age pension. He has had no previous experience as Clerk of Works. I do not consider that he is a suitable person for the position and I am not prepared to sanction his employment by the Council."
This matter is not one of national importance but it is one of much local importance. It reflects on the conduct of the Local Government Department and on their method of making appointments. The Clonakilty Urban Council decided to formulate a building scheme and, on the 16th May, a circular was sent to them asking them to advertise for a clerk of works. This was done and, at a meeting on December 4, Mr. Harte was appointed by six votes to three for Mr. Hurley. They are both equally competent and I do not want to say a word for one as against the other. They are both good men and both were recommended by the engineer as equally suitable. Mr. Harte, however, received the majority vote. A letter was received on December 20 from the Local Government Department stating that, as Mr. Harte and Mr. Hurley were equally suitable, preference should be given to Mr. Hurley on account of his satisfactory record on previous schemes. The reason the urban council gave this appointment to Mr. Harte was that Mr. Hurley had carried out, as clerk of works, a previous scheme. Mr. Hurley is town surveyor, for which he is drawing a salary, and the council thought that it would be only fair to give a turn to the other man, who is equally competent. Nothing was heard from 20th December to 20th February, when there was a letter from the Department asking for particulars of Mr. Harte's age. In the meantime—and this is where the reflection on the Local Government Department comes in—the local Fianna Fáil Club took the matter up and brought politics into it—a rotten thing. They suggested, I take it, to the Local Government Department that Mr. Hurley should get the position in defiance of the majority wish of the urban council. It took them 18 weeks to find out anything about Mr. Harte's age. Until I got the reply to my query to-day, I did not know what his age was, but I knew that he had been an old-age pensioner for a year or two. Nevertheless, he is an active, energetic man and possesses the full qualifications.
The urban council decided, in view of this, that they would adhere to their decision and give Mr. Harte the position. On 23rd March there was another letter stating that the Minister was not prepared to sanction Mr. Harte and that the council should proceed to appoint Mr. Hurley. There was a further letter refusing to sanction the appointment of Mr. Harte and declining to recommend the issue of any instalment of the loan until Mr. Hurley had been appointed. The majority of the urban council still refused to appoint Mr. Hurley because they regarded Mr. Harte as a man who possessed all the necessary qualifications. They also thought it unfair that political issues should crop up after Mr. Harte had been chosen by a majority of the council returned by the votes of the ratepayers. Mr. Harte has worked for a considerable time as builder and contractor. He has worked for different men. He has had large experience, is active and energetic, and the Minister, in these circumstances, should not act contrary to the wishes of the majority of the urban council. It was unfair that the local Fianna Fáil Club should approach their Dáil representative for the area and try to get the decision of the council upset. If procedure of this sort is tolerated, it will have a very bad effect on the community and will not reflect much credit on the Department of Local Government.
Some masons in Clonakilty and others who would be employed on this scheme were under the impression that it was the Urban Council who were holding up the scheme. I was glad to get the admission in the first part of the reply to-day that the scheme was held up as a result of the refusal of the Department to sanction the appointment made by the Urban Council. I should like to stress the point that, until now, there was no communication sent to the Urban Council with reference to Mr. Harte's age. In the advertisement, there were no age limits stated, and why should the Department of Local Government come along now, at the end of six months, and turn down the selection made by the Urban Council owing to an objection made on the score of age? I think that that is a very uncalled for action on the part of the Local Government Department. It looks as if they were inclined to be partisan, and were not going to allow the majority of a council freedom of choice even when the man chosen is competent for the work. The Urban Council are the best judges as to whether a man is fit for the work or not, and the matter should be left in their hands. In this case, the candidate selected by the majority of the Council should, undoubtedly, be sanctioned by the Department.
A deputation of workers waited on Clonakilty Urban Council and asked why the scheme was not being carried out. The Council explained that the delay was the result of the action of the Local Government Department. That is confirmed by the Minister's reply. If there is any further delay the blame must be thrown on the Department. I trust the Parliamentary Secretary will reconsider the decision in this case, and give the Urban Council, as they have selected a man, an opportunity of letting him go on with the work. He is fully competent to carry out the work. I hope the Department will not be riding the high horse, but will give the Council the opportunity of proceeding with the scheme so that they may give tradesmen and others employment that they are anxious to get. If the question of age was to be raised, that should have been done in the first instance, when the Urban Council was asked to advertise for a clerk of works. The Minister should have suggested an age limit then. It is unfair to do so at the end of four or five months. I trust the Department will now accede to the wishes of the Urban Council. The report of the engineer to the Council stated that both men were competent to carry out the work. That was also the opinion of the majority of the members of the Council, who hope that the Minister will accede to their wishes and let the work proceed forthwith. The way the Department of Local Government is being worked is, I think, a reflection on the attitude of the members of the Council and, if it continues, it will not bring any credit either on the Department or on the country.
