I move the Second Stage of the Rates on Agricultural Land (Relief) Bill, 1936. Up to the financial year beginning 1st April, 1932, relief from rates on agricultural land was allowed to occupiers in each county or district at the same rate irrespective of valuation. Whether a holding was small or large or whether it afforded employment or not made no difference, the relief was given at a flat rate and was subject to no conditions. The new money, amounting to £250,000, which was voted in 1932 for rate relief, went to reduce the rates on the first £10 only of the poor law valuation of every holding, or on the whole valuation if it did not exceed £10. Consequently the rate of relief on the first £10 was higher than on the remainder of the valuation by about 2/- in the £. This difference was maintained the following year. In the year next following, that is the year beginning 1st April, 1934, further changes were made. The higher rate of relief was extended from the first £10 to the first £20, and provision was made at the same time for occupiers of land of more than £20 in valuation getting the higher rate of relief if they had men at work on their holdings.
There was then a double differentiation, first between holders under and over £20 valuation, and then between the larger holders who gave employment to men and those who gave no such employment or employment deemed insufficient for the size of the holding. This new system was continued last year, the only change made being that the rate of relief for larger holders who had no men or insufficient men employed was lower than in the previous year, by reason of the grant being reduced by £100,000. The amount of the grant was £1,870,000.
The purpose of the present Bill is first to fix the Agricultural Grant for the current year at exactly the same amount as last year, to allocate it in exactly the same proportions to the local authorities entitled to share in it and to provide for its being applied to the relief of rates in exactly the same way.
The method adopted, although it may appear complicated, is in actual practice fairly simple. The rate of relief that was allowed in each county in the year beginning 1st April, 1933, on the first £10 valuation is taken and an allowance is given unconditionally, at that rate, on all valuations up to the £20 limit. These allowances are called primary allowances, and absorb altogether £1,177,000 approximately, or 63 per cent. of the grant. Then the employment allowances are granted. Early in the year each of the larger occupiers is sent a form on which he may make a claim for an employment allowance by showing the number of men, whether paid employees or relatives, whom he had at work the previous calendar year. The allowance is calculated for each man on £12 10s. 0d. valuation at the same rate as the primary allowance. If the occupier has not so much additional valuation as £12 10s. 0d. for each man, the allowance is calculated on the actual valuation in excess of £20. These employment allowances cost altogether £380,000 or 20 per cent. of the grant.
Deducting certain sums amounting to about £9,000 which are payable to urban authorities in respect of relief in areas that have become urbanised since 1898, there is a balance of £303,000, or about 16 per cent. of the grant, which goes to relief of rates on those valuations above £20 that do not get an employment allowance. This third allowance is called a supplementary allowance, and is everywhere at a lower rate than the primary allowance. In most counties it approximates to one-half of the primary allowance.
The working of the scheme in an area where the rates approximate to the average for the whole country can be seen if we take the South Cork area. Last year the rate in that area for general purposes was, to the nearest penny, 10/3 in the £. That would be the general rate to be levied off buildings and hereditaments other than land. Every occupier of land not exceeding £20 valuation received relief at a fraction over 6/8 in the £. His net rate was, therefore, 3/7 approximately, and this was also the rate on the first £20 of higher valuations. The employment allowance was, therefore, at the rate of 6/8 in the £ on £12 10s. 0d. for every man at work. When these allowances had been made, there was a balance sufficient to allow a supplementary allowance rate of 3/3 on valuations that did not rank for employment allowances, or in other words, the rate levied off such valuations was 7/- in the £, which is the difference between the gross rate of 10/3 and the supplementary rate of 3/3. The supplementary rate is, as I have said, determined by the amount of the balance of the grant left after the prior claims on it have been met. The more employment increases the smaller it becomes.
So far, then, as the present year is concerned, no change is made by this Bill. The sum of £370,000 mentioned in Section 2 is the additional sum that must be voted over and above what will be provided under the earlier Acts in order to bring the grant up to the same amount as last year.
The Bill also makes provision for allocating whatever grant may be provided next year and the year after. If there is no increase or decrease in these years the allocations will remain undisturbed. If the grant is altered, the Executive Council will make the allocations by an Order which will be laid before the Dáil.
The Bill, it will be seen, is a measure for continuing last year's Act for another year, and leaves open the question of the amount of the grant for the two succeeding years, whilst providing for the same method of giving relief to the occupiers in those years.
The new system of giving relief appears on the whole to have worked satisfactorily. Very little in the way of complaint has reached the Department. It may be necessary to tighten up the examination of claims for employment allowances so that these allowances will go only to those for whom they are intended. A move in that direction has already been made this year, but next year it will be necessary to be stricter still.
Finally, I may add a word as to the assessments on land. The assessment for general charges on land in rural areas, after allowing for all Government grants, except the agricultural grant, was last year estimated at £3,618,000. The amount of the grant, it will be seen, is more than half this sum. The net amount leviable off land last year for general purposes was estimated at £1,750,000. In addition to this there would be £180,000 for separate charges. The total levy off land would therefore be under £2,000,000. The expenditure of county councils from revenue falls between £5,000,000 and £6,000,000 a year. The greater portion of this expenditure is met out of Government grants derived from the general taxpayer and rates levied off rateable property other than land. The levy off land now meets about one-third of the expenditure of the councils.
