asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state (a) the number of inspectors at present employed on the farm improvement scheme; (b) the number that are permanent officers of his Department or are permanent civil servants; (c) the number that has been recruited from outside and by what method; (d) the qualifications of these officers to advise farmers on drainage problems; (e) if they are equipped with the necessary instruments to take levels during the course of their inspections.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Inspectors of Farm Improvement.
The answers to the Deputy's inquiries are as follows: (a) For the operation of the farm improvements scheme 100 temporary supervisors are at present employed. (b) None of these supervisors is a permanent officer of my Department or a permanent civil servant, but the work of the supervisors is under the direction of permanent or quasi-permanent officers of my Department. (c) All the supervisors have been recruited from outside. A number of them who had previously been employed on schemes, such as the land reclamation scheme, and who had given satisfactory service, were re-employed on the farm improvement scheme. The remainder were selected following an interview by a Departmental selection board. (d) The supervisors were selected because of their fitness to deal with the problems, including drainage, arising out of the farm improvement scheme. Most of those selected had satisfactorily completed courses of instruction in agriculture. (e) In reply to the last part of the question, in ordinary circumstances it is not anticipated that the use of instruments for taking levels will be necessary.
Arising out of the Minister's reply, would he not agree that it is of the greatest importance that the men appointed to do this work should have proper qualifications to advise on drainage? They will have a very important question to decide, namely, whether or not the right fall is there for drainage. A man cannot come to a proper determination on that question unless he is provided with some instruments to take levels.
I think the Deputy will agree—probably his experience is the same as my own—that practically every farmer is an engineer on his own land; that he knows how to drain it and, as a rule, does not want advice.
I do not altogether agree with that.