I move:—
Go ndeontar suim Bhreise ná reghaidh thar £32,442 chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1937, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí Oifig an Aire Tailte agus Oifig Choimisiún Talmhan na hEireann (44 agus 45 Vict., c. 49, a. 46, agus c. 71, a. 4; 48 agus 49 Vict., c. 73, a. 17, 18 agus 20; 53 agus 54 Vict., c. 49, a. 2; 54 agus 55 Vict., c. 48; 3 Edw. 7, c. 37; 7 Edw. 7, c. 38 agus c. 56; 9 Edw. 7, c. 42; Uimh. 27 agus Uimh. 42 de 1923; Uimh. 25 de 1925; Uimh. 11 de 1926; Uimh. 19 de 1927; Uimh. 31 de 1929; Uimh. 11 de 1931; Uimh. 33 agus Uimh. 38 de 1933; Uimh. 11 de 1934; agus Uimh. 41 de 1936.
That a Supplementary sum not exceeding £32,442 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1937, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Offices of the Minister for Lands and of the Irish Land Commission (44 and 45 Vict., c. 49, sec. 46, and c. 71, sec. 4; 48 and 49 Vict., c. 73, secs. 17, 18 and 20; 53 and 54 Vict., c. 49, sec. 2; 54 and 55 Vict., c. 48; 3 Edw. 7, c. 37; 7 Edw. 7, c. 38 and c. 56; 9 Edw. 7, c. 42; Nos. 27 and 42 of 1923; 25 of 1925; 11 of 1926; 19 of 1927; 31 of 1929; 11 of 1931; 33 and 38 of 1933; 11 of 1934; and 41 of 1936).
The additional sum of £380 required under sub-head C—Incidental Expenses —is due to the increase in expenditure on advertising in connection with tenders for contracts for the carrying out of improvement works. Owing to the increasing rate of division of untenanted land during the past few years, new holdings are being created in larger numbers, with a consequent increase in the volume of improvement works to be carried out. The rate of expenditure on improvements for the current year has exceeded original anticipations. Outlay for the nine months to the 31st December, 1936, amounted to £486,500 and it is expected that expenditure at a corresponding rate will continue to the end of the financial year. Provision for a further £40,000 is, accordingly, made under sub-head I—Improvement of Estates, etc.—making the total provision for the year under this sub-head, £646,500.
Sub-head T (1) provides a sum of £1,500 to meet the deficiency in consequence of the 50 per cent. reduction under the Land Act, 1933, in the sums collectable from tenants as payment in lieu of rent. Under the Land Act, 1923, the Land Commission are liable to the landlords for the full amount due to them in respect of payment in lieu of rent. Of the present provision, £714 is required to make good the deficiency relating to the period from the May gale, 1933, to the end of the financial year 1935-36 and the balance, £786, to meet the deficiency in the current year. The new sub-head Z— Losses—was opened in order to provide for payment of compensation—£61, including costs—to the owner of a private motor car damaged in collision with a cart driven by an employee of the Land Commission and for payment of £1 to an officer of the Land Commission to compensate for damage to clothing.
Under the new sub-head A.A., provision is made for the payment of lodgment fees in connection with warrants lodged with under-sheriffs for the recovery of arrears of land purchase annuities, etc. Provision for this service was made in previous Estimates but it did not appear in the Estimates for the current year in consequence of a judgment of the High Court, Halpin v. The Attorney-General. The doubts raised by that judgment were removed by Section 17 of the Land Act, 1936, and the provision is, accordingly, restored to the Vote. The amount required for the current year is £23,000. Recovery of the fees will, where possible, be effected by under-sheriffs, and it is expected that £5,000 will be recovered by the end of the financial year for Appropriations-in-Aid of the Vote. The fees paid to county registrars, where they discharge the duties of under-sheriffs, are surrenderable to the Exchequer. The gross amount of the Supplementary Estimate —£64,942—is offset by savings on other sub-heads and by an increase in the amount available for Appropriations-in-Aid of the Vote, leaving the total net sum required £32,442. The main savings occur under sub-head A— Salaries, Wages and Allowances— £4,136; sub-head J—Advance to meet deficiency of Income from Untenanted Lands—£7,000; sub-head R—Payments under Section 27 (2) of the Land Act, 1933—£6,000; sub-head S—Amount required to complete Purchase Proceedings pending under Land Acts, 1903-1909, £5,000. Smaller savings elsewhere in the Vote amount to £5,364.