Well, I propose to deal only with portion of the Estimate in Irish. Details connected with the major portion of it will be dealt with in English for the benefit of those who do not understand Irish.
Tá cúrsaí sláinte i ngach conntae anois fá réim Oifigigh um Shláinte an Phobail agus is iad Condae an Chláir agus Condae Longphuirt an dá chonntae ba dhéidheannaighe a ghlac leis an scéim. Tá sé buailte isteach in aigne na ndaoine i gcoitcheanta fá láthair gur ar leas an phobail an obair seo, go háirithe an méid di a bhaineas le scrúdughadh na leanbhaí scoile ag dochtúiribh.
Tá le cruthú do réir staitistíocht bheathadh na tíre sa bhliadhain 1935 gur chuaidh ráta na mbreith in aoirde arís. Ar an dtaobh eile ní mór dhom a rádh gur cailleadh breis daoine sa bhliadhain sin ná sa bhliadhain roimhe. Mar sin féin ba lugha go mór ráta an bháis ná an meadhon-ráta ins na deich mbliadhna roimhe. Thárla gur chuaidh ráta na mbás i méid ins na bailtibh agus fé'n dtuaith acht ba mhó é ins na bailtibh.
Tá obair an-tábhachtach 'ghá dhéanamh ar son sábhála naoidheanán fé scéimeannaibh oifigiúla máithreachais agus leas na leanbh ins na ceithre cathrachaibh—Baile Atha Cliath, Corcaigh, Luimneach, agus Port Láirge, i mbailtibh móra Dhún Laoghaire, Loch Garman agus Cluain Meala agus i gcúig cinn déag de bhailtibh eile agus i gceithre cinn de cheanntrachaibh sláinte conntae. 'Na theannta sin tá os cionn cead cumann neamhspleadhach ag gabháilt do'n obair sin ar fud na tíre go léir acht amháin i gCondae Liathdroma.
Is mór an tairbhe maidir le leas na leanbh an scéim i gcóir bainne agus tá suim £90,000 ins an meastachán so chuige sin. Bhí scéimeanna chum bainne do thabhairt in aisce do leanbhaíbh fá réim 'sa bhliadhain seo caithte i ngach ceanntar acht amháin dhá bhaile-cheanntar 'nar dhiúltuigh na comhairlí an deóntas do bhí ag dul dóibh do ghlacadh chúcha.
Tá na leanbhaí scoile fá réim scrúdúcháin dochtúra anois ins na conntaethibh ar fad.
Bíonn béilí le fagháil ag leanbhaíbh scoile anois ina na ceithre cathrachaibh agus i seacht mbailtibh ceathracad chomh maith. Soláthruigheadh béilí i ndá chéad agus a dó ficead de scoileannaibh náisiúnta i rith na bliadhna agus do b'é meadhon-uimhir na leanbhaí a fuair na béilí ná ceithre míle fichead gach lá.
Ins an nGaeltacht tá an obair chéadna 'ghá dhéanamh ag bórdaibh an tSláinte in Iarthar Chorcaighe, i gCondae na Gaillimhe, i dTír Chonaill, i gCondae Chiarraidhe agus i gCondae Mhuigheó. Ins na ceanntrachaibh sin soláthruigheadh beagnach trí milliún béile i rith na bliadhna.
Atá scéimeanna i gcóir leighis na heitinne fá réim anois i ngach conntae agus i ngach cathair. Ina lán áiteanna cuireadh osbidéil nua ar bun i gcóir an ghalair sin le congnamh deóntaisí ó Chiste an Chrannchuir agus cuireadh feabhas ar a lán eile díobh. Tá osbidéil speisialta anois i dtrí cathrachaibh agus i gcúig conntae déag. Is ins na háiteannaibh seo leanas is mó d'éag daoine de bhárr an ghalair seo:— i gCathrachaibh Chorcaighe, Luimnighe, agus Baile Átha Cliath agus i gConntaethibh Locha Garman agus Sligigh. Agus is iad na Conntaethe ba lugha bás dá bhárr, Condae Liathdroma, Condae Roscomáin, Condae an Chabháin agus Condae Mhuineacháin. Is é tuairim an dochtúra atá i gceannas na hoibre i gCondae Liathdroma gurb' é an chúis nach gcailltear a thuille annsin ná a luighead daoine ins an gconntae atá 'na gcomhnuidhe i mbailtibh móra.
Is minic a thuiteann sé amach go mbíonn an galar so suidhte go ródhaingean ins an duine tinn nuair a gheibhtear amach é. Tá súil agam go gcuirfear feabhas ar an scéal so de bhárr scrúdúcháin na leanbhaí scoile.
I rith na bliadhna seo caithte leagadh breis airgid amach ar oibreacha sláinte; scéimeanna uisce agus scéimeanna camraighe furmhór díobh. Tugadh ceathramhadh milliúin púnt as an gcisde i gcóir fóirthne ar dhíomhaointeas ar son a leithéid d'oibreachaibh. Caitheadh £600,000 ar fad orra agus is iad na hughdaráis áitiúla a sholáthruigh an chuid eile de'n airgead.
Rinneadh céim mhór ar aghaidh le feabhasú na n-osbidéal. Tá trí osbidéil chonntae críochnuighthe, naoi n-osbidéil ceanntair agus dhá osbidéil fiabhrais. Chomh maith leis sin táthar ag obair fá láthair ar thógáil naoi n-osbidéal conntae, sé osbidéail ceanntair agus ceithre osbidéal fiabhrais agus atá glacaithe leis na pleanannaibh i gcóir osbidéil amháin chonntae, dhá osbidéal ceanntair, agus trí osbidéal fiabhrais. Gheobhfar furmhór de'n airgead ar a son ó Chisde an Chrannchuir.
Tugadh suim £10,000 ó'n gcisde sin i gcóir leabharlann ins na hosbidéilibh agus an méid céadna do'n chomhairle atá curtha ar bun chun fiosruchán ealadhnta do dhéanamh i gcúrsaíbh tinnis.
Mar a dubhairt mé anuiridh atá dlúth-bhaint idir cúrsaí comhnuighthe an phobail agus cúrsaí sláinte agus ní raghaidh scéimeanna um leas sláinte na ndaoine i dtairbhe muna gcuirtear feabhas san am chéadna ar chúrsaibh comhnuighthe. Le cúig bliadhna anuas tugadh suim £2,800,000 i ndeóntaisibh i gcóir tighthe nua do dhaoinibh príobháideacha agus do Chumannaibh Maitheasa Puiblidhe. Atá deóntaisí díolta cheana ar son 16,184 de thighthibh nua agus ar son ath-thógála 8,760 de thighthibh fá'n dtuaith. Des na tighthibh nua tógadh ós cionn sé míle déag díobh ins na bailtibh agus suas le naoi míle díbh fá'n dtuaith. Tógadh suas le 60 per cent. des na tighthibh ins na bailtibh i gcathair Baile Átha Clíath.
Is iad na conntaethe 'nar tógadh an méid ba mhó de thighthibh fá'n dtuaith, Muigheó, Baile Átha Clíath, Ciarraighe, Corcaigh, Gaillimh, Muineachán, Roscomán, An Clár, Luimneach agus Sligeach.
Tá suas le naoi míle tighthe idir lámhaibh fá láthair ag daoinibh príobháideacha agus ag Cumannaibh Maitheasa Puiblidhe agus tá obair ath-thógala tosnuighthe ar beagnach dhá mhíle dhéag de thighthibh. Is mór an díoghbháil a tháinig ar chúrsaíbh tógála tighthe i rith an gheimhridh seo do bhárr na droch-aimsire a bhí againn. Nilam glan-tsasta, ámhthach, gur ar an aimsir amháin is cóir an milleán do bheith agus táim ag scrúdú an scéil go beacht fá láthair. Measadh go gcríochnóchthaí 1,462 de thighthibh i mBaile Átha Clíath sa bhliadhain darb'críoch an 31adh lá de mhí Márta. Ba lugha sin de sheasca tighthe ná an méid a tógadh anuiridh agus ní mór dom a rádh nach ndearnadh an oiread dul chun cinn i mBaile Átha Clíath agus a bhí súil agam. Caithfear 2,500 tighthe do thógáil i mBaile Átha Clíath gach bliadhain má táthar chun na sráideanna neamh-shláinteamhla do ghlanadh amach le n-ár linn-ne. Tá níos mó ná naoi míle líon-tighe fá láthair 'na gcomhnuidhe i dtighthibh nach bhfuil oireamhnach do'n chine daonna. Ceist mhór chruaidh iseadh é seo agus ní mór tabhairt fé ar gach saghas slighe má támuid chun an cheist do réidhteach.
Tugadh deóntaisí de leath-mhilliún púnt do lucht ughdarás áitiúla anuiridh as an gciste fóirithne chun obair do dhéanamh ar bhóithribh agus ar chasánaibh i dtreó is go dtabharfaí obair don lucht díomhaoin. Tugadh obair do 24,000 daoine do bhárr na scéime seo.
Tá feabhas mór tagaithe ar bhailiúchán na rátaí i mbliadhna. Do b'aoirde anuiridh ná le trí bliadhna anuas méid na rátaí do bhí istigh i mi Meadhon Foghmhair. Bhi an scéal céadna ann Mí na Nodlag. Ní'l na cúnntaisí go léir istigh fós i gcóir Mí Márta acht is léir ó'n méid díobh atá ar fagháil go leanfaidh an scéal amhlaidh.
This Estimate makes provision for a net expenditure of £1,259,068. Grants for housing amount to £769,432 and grants for public health services to £327,005, making a total sum of £1,069,437 for social services under this Vote. The administration of public health in every county is now supervised by a county medical officer of health, the last two counties to adopt this system being Longford and Clare. The advantages of the system, especially in regard to the medical inspection of school children are now generally recognised and in several counties assistant county medical officers of health and whole-time public health nurses have been appointed by boards of health to assist the county medical officers. The co-operation of trained nurses is very necessary to the efficient working of the arrangements for school medical inspection. Throughout the country the organisation of public health measures is being gradually perfected and as the preventive aspect of health administration receives closer attention there is every reason to hope for a further improvement in the public health.
The vital statistics of the year 1935, which are the latest available, disclose a further rise in the birth rate. The total number of births was 58,266 being 19.61 per thousand of the population as compared with 19.49 for 1934. The number of deaths recorded in the year 1935 was 41,543, an increase of 2,460 on the number registered for the preceding year. The death rate was 13.98 per 1,000 of the population as compared with a rate of 13.15 for the year 1934, and an average rate of 14.26 for the ten years 1925-1934. The increased mortality in 1935 occurred in both urban and rural areas but was proportionately greater in the former districts.
The principal infectious diseases were responsible for 1,865 deaths during the year 1935, an increase of 506 over the previous year's total of 1,359. The increase was mainly due to an increase in the number of deaths from measles, and to the high mortality from influenza, which increased from 689 in 1934 to 963 in 1935. The mortality from measles was the highest since 1931, when 372 deaths were recorded. The number of deaths from influenza was, however, well below the average for the years 1930-'34, which was 1,244.
There were three cases of typus fever notified in 1935. This is the lowest number ever recorded for the country. Two of the cases proved fatal. A satisfactory feature of the vital statistics for 1935 is the decrease in the death rate from typhoid fever. The number of deaths was 64 for that year as compared with 89 for the previous year. There was a fall in the incidence of typhoid fever due to a large extent to the general improvement in sanitary conditions, resulting from the new sewerage and water supply schemes which have been installed in towns and villages.
A striking example of the value of improved sanitary conditions in reducing the incidence of typhoid fever was given in the annual report of the Superintendent Medical Officer of Health for Cork City for 1935. For the decennial period 1915-'24 the number of cases notified was 460 and the number of deaths 45. For the succeeding decennial period 1925-'34 the number of cases notified was 76 and the number of deaths 14. The drop in incidence in the latter period coincides with the installation in 1928 of a special filtration plant in connection with the water supply and the institution of a systematic bacteriological examination of the water. From 1928 up to 1935, 14 cases have been notified and 3 deaths from the disease.
There was a reduction in the incidence of diphtheria in 1935 as compared with 1934. The total number of cases notified during 1935 was 3,091. The number of deaths was 378. A drop in the incidence is reflected mainly in the returns of the county boroughs where the most intensive immunising campaigns have been undertaken. The total number of deaths from diphtheria registered for the four county boroughs for 1935 was 107, giving a death rate of 18.7 per 100,000 of the population. During the year 1933 there were 110 deaths from diphtheria registered in Dublin County Borough alone. An immunisation scheme against diphtheria has been extensively developed in Dublin and during the past five years approximately 47,000 children have been immunised under that scheme. Considerable propaganda work has been necessary for the purpose of emphasising the importance of having children under 12 years of age protected against that disease, and it is expected that with the increased number of children rendered immune a considerable fall in the incidence of diphtheria will quickly take place. In the urban districts other than county boroughs there was a marked rise in the number of notified cases from 462 in 1934 to 585 in 1935, whilst in rural districts the figure remains almost the same as in 1934, namely 1,403. Immunisation schemes are not yet operating in all the urban districts and only in a comparatively small number of rural centres. An extension of immunisation schemes to these areas is being undertaken.
The number of scarlet fever cases notified in 1935 was 3,282, approximately the same as for the year 1934. The number of deaths was 92 as compared with 82 in 1934. There was a rise in the incidence of this disease in the four county boroughs and also in urban districts. In the rural areas there was a decline in the incidence as compared with the year 1934. In the county boroughs 1,004 cases were notified, and of these 906 were in Dublin. In the urban areas the incidence has been rising consistently since 1931. This disease presents a baffling problem to epidemiologists.
The number of deaths from measles increased from 50 in 1934 to 316 in 1935. The average number of deaths registered for the five years 1930-'34 was 191. Measles is not compulsorily notifiable generally throughout the country and the incidence of disease is not accurately known. From such figures as are available and from the number of deaths registered as due to measles, it is evident that the disease was very prevalent in 1935. Measles as a cause of death is one of our most formidable enemies and is deserving of more attention than is too often given to it by parents. The danger of this disease lies chiefly in the various complications, mainly of a respiratory nature, which so frequently accompany it, and which present the most serious difficulty in the treatment of the disease. Broncho-pneumonia is the most frequent and the most fatal complication met with in this country, and when it supervenes upon an attack of measles is generally fatal, particularly in very young children. The housing conditions in a locality play a determining part in the incidence and mortality statistics of measles in a community. In the crowded dwellings and tenement houses of the poor, children are exposed to measles at a very early age and if nursed at home in the family circle not alone are their chances of recovery lessened, but they act as potential disseminators of the disease to the other children of the family.
Infantile mortality in 1935 reflected the general increase in death rates as compared with 1934, being 68 per 1,000 births as compared with 63 in 1934, but the bulk of this increase is accounted for by the urban districts where the rate rose to 87 in 1935, as compared with 78 in the preceding year, while the corresponding figures for rural districts were 57 and 55. The greater mortality among infants was chiefly due to congenital defects and to outbreaks of diarrhoea and enteritis. The latter disease is often associated with impurity in milk, and it is hoped that the carrying into effect of the regulations made in pursuance of the Milk and Dairies Act, 1935, will go a long way towards reducing the incidence of that disease. Infantile mortality rates were greatest in Waterford County Borough, 126 per 1,000 births, Kilkenny Borough 110, Limerick County Borough 106 and Wexford Borough 103. The position in Dublin County Borough showed an increase in the infantile mortality rate from 80 per 1,000 births for the year 1934 to 94 per 1,000 births for the year 1935. The increase was due to the incidence of diarrhoea and enteritis which is difficult to control in hot, dry weather, especially in the tenement areas.
Very valuable work for the safeguarding of infant life is being carried out under approved maternity and child welfare schemes in the four county boroughs of Cork, Dublin, Limerick and Waterford, in the boroughs of Clonmel, Dun Laoghaire and Wexford, in 15 urban districts and in four county health districts. There are in addition 114 voluntary associations engaged in this work widely distributed and operating in every county in the Free State with the exception of Leitrim. The Dublin County Borough scheme is administered in a comprehensive scale and is still developing. It is under the charge of a whole-time medical officer, two part-time medical officers, and 23 nurses under a nurse superintendent and an assistant nurse superintendent. In addition to 12 baby clubs in various localities and the Model Child Welfare Centre at Lord Edward Street the regular nursing staff is supplemented by voluntary assistants who visit necessitous mothers and children in their own homes and arrange for the supply of milk and food.
There were 20,696 mothers and 35,761 children on the Dublin visitation registers at the commencement of 1936 and 4,146 additional mothers and 15,475 children were added in the course of the year. The total numbers dealt with under the scheme were 24,842 mothers and 51,236 children. The attendance at the baby clubs comprised 42,669 in respect of mothers and 46,992 in respect of children. The aggregate number of visits paid by health visitors to mothers and children in their homes during the year was 217,831. Arrangements are in existence for holding in connection with the scheme ante-natal clinics at the Coombe Lying-in Hospital, the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, and the Rotunda Hospital. In the year 1936, 5,077 cases attended the clinics at these hospitals and at the special clinic at Lord Edward Street.
During the year 1936 there were 4,091, 3,021 and 1,168 mothers dealt with under the Cork, Limerick and Waterford County Borough schemes respectively whilst the numbers of children dealt with were 5,506, 4,953 and 2,700 respectively. The visits of health visitors in these districts were 13,477, 12,367 and 4,810 respectively in that year. The number of voluntary agencies dealing with rural areas is increasing. As a basis for the subsequent organisation of maternity and child welfare schemes the county medical officers of health have recommended the adoption of the Notification of Births Act, 1907, and the Act is now in operation in all districts.
Child welfare also benefited by the supply of free milk for which a sum of £90,000 is provided in this Estimate. Approved schemes for the supply of free milk were in operation during last financial year in all areas with the exception of two urban districts where the councils declined to avail of the amounts allocated. Allowances of free milk are confined to children under five years of age whose parents or guardians are in receipt of home assistance or are unable from their own resources to provide an adequate supply of milk for their children. The supply of free milk has been of great value in promoting a higher standard of nutrition amongst the children of the poorer classes. The beneficial results to the children have been repeatedly attested by county medical officers of health.
School medical inspection schemes have now been adopted in every county. In the counties of Longford, Tipperary N.R. and Clare the schemes are only being initiated. In the schemes at present in force provision is made for the correction or treatment of diseased tonsils and adenoids, defects of nose or throat, dental defects, defective vision and other ailments of the eye. Diseased tonsils and adenoids are treated at the local or voluntary hospitals as are approved by the Department. Dental defects are treated by the surgeon dentists employed under the schemes at the dental clinics, or where more serious dental operations are necessary, at the county hospitals. In the county boroughs agreements are usually made with a dental or general hospital for treatment in certain cases. Errors of refraction are generally dealt with by the ophthalmic surgeon and glasses are provided. Other eye defects are dealt with at eye hospitals.
School medical inspection has ceased to be a novelty in these districts in which the schemes have been functioning for some time, and is regarded as part of the ordinary school life and eagerly awaited; refusals to have children medically examined, or absences of children on the days of the inspection, are reported to be very few. Of the children examined in 1935, the following defects were ascertained:—dental, 32,468; tonsils and adenoids, 19,864; defective vision and other eye defects, 14,179, whilst the figures of treatment provided for these defects during the year were 29,035; 6,525 and 10,600, respectively. In some districts delay has taken place in the provision of staffs and of the corrective treatment necessary for defective conditions ascertained. These delays are being gradually overcome and it is anticipated that during the coming year the schemes will have reached a full stage in their development except in the counties in which county medical officers of health have only recently been appointed.
In one county the boys of school-leaving age, inspected in 1935, were, on the average, 2 inches taller and more than 8 lbs. heavier than those of the same ages inspected in 1932. Girls of school-leaving age inspected in 1935 were, on the average, 2½ inches taller and 3½ lbs. heavier than those inspected in 1932. These improvements were reported to be largely due to better dietary and to the correction of defects under the scheme. In some counties a further reduction is reported in the percentage of children suffering from malnutrition. The county medical officers of health attribute the improvement in part to the operation of the free milk supply scheme and to advice tendered to parents at school medical inspections regarding the proper dietary for children. School meals schemes in urban centres are now in operation in the administrative areas of 51 local authorities, comprising the four county boroughs, 40 urban districts and seven towns under town commissioners. Two of these schemes only came into operation in the latter part of the year ended 31st March, 1937, viz., Mallow and Lismore. Meals were provided under the schemes in 222 national schools during the year ended 31st March, 1936, for a daily average number of nearly 24,000 children. The total number of meals provided was approximately 4,231,872.
The meals vary in different districts according to the funds available. Stews, soups and meat, with bread and potatoes, are provided in a few districts, but, in the majority of districts, meals of milk or cocoa, with buns or bread and butter or jam, are provided. Local authorities are urged by the Department to make pure milk (tuberculin-tested, if available at a reasonable price) the basis of the meal. In the Gaeltacht, school meals are provided by the boards of health for West Cork, and the counties of Galway, Donegal, Kerry and Mayo. The total number of meals provided in the financial year 1935-36 was 2,933,600. The mid-day meal usually provided under the schemes consists of milk, or cocoa with milk, and bread with butter or jam. Milk does not, in some instances, form part of the meal owing to the difficulty of obtaining supplies in certain areas, especially in winter. The reports from the managers and teachers of the schools in which the meals are provided show that the meals have a very beneficial effect on the physique of the children and on their application to their work. Many of the children come long distances to school, so that the provision of the meal, doubtless, encourages school attendance, and is likely to raise the school average, especially in winter.
Approved schemes for the welfare of the blind are in operation in all districts. Blind persons to the number of 2,166 were afforded assistance in their own homes, whilst 413 were maintained in approved institutions. Recently, statements have appeared in the public Press as to the prevalence of trachoma in this country. The medical section of my Department has given this matter attention for some years past, and the result of their investigations do not support the statements as to the wide spread of the disease. The county medical officers have been requested to make investigations as to the extent of the disease in their respective areas.
Schemes for the treatment of tuberculosis are now in operation in each county and county borough. Additional institutions for the treatment of the disease have been provided in several centres out of sweepstake funds. Improvements to existing sanatoria and tuberculosis institutions have also been carried out. The total amount expended to date is £212,125. Further works are in progress in the counties of Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Laoighis and Wexford. Local sanatoria or tuberculosis hospitals are available in three county boroughs and 15 counties. In two other counties beds in special wards of district hospitals are available for tuberculosis patients. In addition, open-air treatment and facilities for the education of children suffering from tuberculosis are provided in five institutions under private management.
In 1935 there were 2,976 deaths from pulmonary tuberculosis, or an increase of 250 deaths on the figure for 1934. There were 794 deaths from the non-pulmonary form, being an increase of six on the figure for 1934. The deaths in urban areas in 1935 from all forms of tuberculosis numbered 1,554, being an increase of 155 deaths on the number of deaths for 1934. In rural areas the deaths numbered 2,216 or an increase of 101 on the 1934 figure of 2,115. In the urban centres the death-rate from tuberculosis was 1.62 per 1,000 of the population of these areas as compared with 1.10 per 1,000 for all rural districts. The highest mortality rates from all forms of tuberculosis for 1935 were returned in the following areas:—Cork and Limerick County Boroughs, 1.72 per 1,000 of the population; Dublin County Borough, 1.64; Wexford County, 1.48 and Sligo County, 1.47. In the following areas the lowest mortality rates were observed:—Leitrim, 0.81; Roscommon County, 0.88; Cavan County, 0.93 and Monaghan County, 0.98. The tuberculosis officer for Leitrim County attributes the low death-rate largely to the small urban population in the county. At present a large majority of the cases coming under notice are in advanced stages of the disease. The County medical officers are endeavouring to secure notification of all cases in the early stages so that effective measures may be taken to guard against infective conditions in their homes. The school medical inspection schemes should have a very beneficial effect in securing earlier treatment of cases of tuberculosis.
In the financial year just ended there was increased expenditure on sanitation works as compared with previous years, due mainly to the increased provision made by the Government for contributions to such works out of the funds specially provided for the relief of unemployment. The amount allocated to public health works undertaken by local authorities was approximately £250,000. The total expenditure was approximately £600,000, and the balance of the cost will be met by the local authorities out of loans. Further progress was also made in the improvement of hospital services. Three county hospitals, nine district hospitals and two fever hospitals have already been completed, and nine county hospitals, six district hospitals and four fever hospitals are in course of erection. Further plans have been approved for one county hospital, two district hospitals and three fever hospitals. Expenditure on these works is largely met out of Hospital Trust funds. The total expenditure will be in the neighbourhood of £1,500,000 of which approximately £1,000,000 will be met out of grants. Improvement works are also being undertaken in connection with most of the mental hospitals. The total expenditure on works in progress at mental hospitals is estimated at £1,300,000 approximately, of which about £800,000 will be met out of Hospital Trust funds.
It has been decided to make a grant of £10,000 from the Hospitals Trust Fund to the Hospital Library Council, which has been set up for the purpose of establishing a central book depot, from which suitable books will be supplied on loan to hospital authorities for the use of their patients. A beginning will be made with the voluntary hospitals and the tuberculosis hospitals, and subsequently it is intended, when experience has been gained, to consider the question of extending the service to the county and district hospitals. The initial grant is for an experimental period of three years, and at the end of that time the position will be reviewed. The service will be in working order during the present year.
A council on which the universities and medical schools are represented has recently been established for the purpose of organising medical research. The necessity for special work of this kind has long been recognised. The amount of scientific investigation hitherto carried out in this country has been relatively small. The Public Hospitals Act, 1933, contemplated the allocation of grants from the Hospitals Trust Fund to organisations carrying on medical research, and it has been decided to make a grant of £10,000 out of that fund to finance the work of the council.
The provision for housing under the 1932 Act amounts to £767,820. This amount will be available as to the sum of £302,820 towards meeting a proportion of the annual loan charges of local authorities on moneys borrowed for the erection of houses under the Act, and as to a sum of £465,000 for the making of grants to private persons and public utility societies for the building of new houses and the reconstruction of existing houses in rural areas.
Since 1932, there has been provided under various Acts a total sum of £2,800,000 for the making of grants to private persons and public utility societies. The amount actually paid in grants up to the 31st December, 1936, was £970,934 in respect of 16,184 completed new houses, and £336,810 in respect of 8,760 houses reconstructed in rural areas and £179,362 in respect of houses partially erected or reconstructed. Of the 16,184 new houses provided, 7,269 were erected in urban areas and 8,915 in rural areas. The allocation of the houses built in urban areas was as follows:—Dublin County Borough, 4,350; Cork County Borough, 450; Limerick County Borough, 239; Waterford County Borough, 40; all other urban areas, 2,190. Of the total number of houses erected in urban areas, approximately 60 per cent. have been erected in Dublin County Borough.
Of the 8,915 new houses erected in rural areas since 1932, 1,355 were for agricultural labourers; 3,627 for small farmers up to £15 valuation; 633 for farmers from £15 to £25 valuation; and 3,300 for other persons. In the rural areas, the largest number of houses were built in the counties of Mayo, Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Monaghan, Roscommon, Clare, Limerick and Sligo. The number of new houses in course of construction or about to be begun by private persons and public utility societies in urban and rural areas is 8,977.
The number of houses reconstructed in rural areas up to 31st December, 1936, was 8,760, of which 7,953 were for small farmers and 807 for agricultural labourers. The largest numbers of houses reconstructed were in the counties of Cork, Louth, Mayo, Longford, Monaghan, Galway, Kerry and Roscommon. There are at present in course of reconstruction 11,930 houses.
As regards the operations of local authorities, complete returns are not available for the year ended the 31st March, but it is estimated that 3,440 houses were completed in urban areas, including towns under town commissioners, and 2,825 in rural areas. The total number provided since 1932 would, therefore, be 14,895 in urban areas, and 8,662 in rural areas. The number of labourers' cottages provided in the financial year just ended is estimated at 2,825, and compares very favourably with the number built in the previous year. In the urban areas, the building programme has not been so well maintained. The number of houses built will be approximately 3,440. Unfavourable weather conditions during the winter season delayed the progress of building. I am not, however, satisfied that the decrease is entirely due to this cause, and further investigation into the position is being made. In Dublin, the number of dwellings estimated to be completed in the financial year just ended is 1,462, as compared with 1,522 in the year ended the 31st March, 1936. The rate of progress in Dublin has fallen greatly below expectations. The actual number of dwellings provided in 1934 was only 1,085, and in the succeeding year, 1,522. The production of houses would require to be increased to at least 2,500 in every year. Unless this rate is reached very quickly, the clearance of insanitary areas will extend over many years. At present there are 9,450 families living in insanitary tenements, some of them in cellar dwellings. The problem is one of great magnitude, and must be attacked from every possible direction if a solution is to be found within reasonable time. The housing committee of the corporation and their staff have been giving the matter very close attention, and I believe they are fully alive to the necessity of making more rapid progress in the future.
The clearance of insanitary areas is a slow process. It involves the rehousing of the people who are to be dispossessed, partly in new dwellings built in areas already cleared, and partly in new houses erected on other sites. It is important, therefore, to plan well ahead the preparatory work of clearance and the preliminary development of new sites, so that a building programme can be maintained at the maximum without any falling off in production between the completion of one scheme and the starting of another. The housing committee have now dealt with this aspect of the problem in a manner that will likely lead to a substantial increase in the number of dwellings to be built in the present year. They have practically completed arrangements for the acquisition of land for the building of 2,145 dwellings, and are arranging for the acquisition of further sites for 1,695 dwellings. There are in course of construction at present about 1,200 dwellings, and contracts were recently entered into for 575 further dwellings. It is expected that in the near future further contracts can be placed that would bring the number under construction to at least 2,500 dwellings. The total number of dwellings completed in Dublin since 1932 is 5,230, of which 1,878 are for the rehousing of persons removed from insanitary areas.
During the year 1936, local authorities provided 4,077 allotments for unemployed persons. The plots are usually let at 1/- per season. For the present year schemes embracing 3,500 plots have been confirmed and it is expected that arrangements will be made for the provision of 2,000 further allotments. Any loss incurred by a local authority in the provision of allotments for unemployed persons at reduced or nominal rents is recouped to the local authority out of the provision made in this Estimate. The provision to be made by local authorities for road maintenance in the present financial year shows an increase of £17,138 on the net amount provided in the past year, after allowing for the maintenance grant from the Road Fund. The amounts allowed for surface dressing of main roads is the same as last year, but an additional provision of £16,685 under this head has been made for county roads. Grants amounting to approximately £500,000 were made out of relief funds to local authorities in the past financial year for the carrying out of works on roads and footpaths with a view to providing additional employment for unemployed persons. About 24,000 persons were afforded employment on a rotational basis on these schemes.
Very little progress was made by planning authorities during the year. Model clauses for insertion in planning schemes have been prepared in my Department for the guidance of planing authorities. Copies of the clauses were recently circulated to the local bodies that have adopted the provisions of the Town and Regional Planning Act, 1934, and also to the various associations interested in planning. The planning authorities for the 15 districts where the provisions of the Act have been adopted are being requested to press forward the preparation of their draft schemes.
There has been an improvement in the rate collection in counties in the past year. In September, the proportion of the warrants collected was higher than that in the corresponding months of the three preceding years. At the end of December, this improved position was maintained, the proportion of the warrants for the year outstanding being then less than in any of the four preceding years. The returns up to the 31st March have not all been received, but the improvement shown up to the 31st December is likely to be maintained.