asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware of the necessity of informing individual farmers at the earliest possible moment as to the exact amount of their tillage requirements under the Compulsory Tillage Order; and if he will state when inspectors of his Department will be in a position to do so.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Compulsory Tillage Order.
Farmers have already been informed, by announcement in the public Press, of the requirements of the Tillage Order for 1944. As the area of arable land has not altered in the vast majority of cases, farmers should have no more difficulty in arriving at the amount of tillage which they are required to carry out in 1944, including the area to be sown with wheat, than they had in previous seasons.
Does the Minister realise that many farmers have not been informed as to the requirements of the Order and have not been definitely informed as to the exact proportion of their farm which is considered arable? It is unfair to farmers to inspect them and give them such information as late as March—and April in some cases. It is desirable that such information should be available to them immediately. Will the Minister look into the matter and try to give that information to the farmers at an early date?
It might be highly desirable, but I do not think that it would be quite possible, to give specific information of that sort to everybody concerned.
How is the farmer to know what his liability is if he is not so informed?
I understood the Deputy to say on one occasion that no farmer should be engaged in farming if he did not know the quality of his land.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state in respect of the operation of the Compulsory Tillage Order, 1943-44, (a) the total number of inspectors; and (b) the number of clerical and other staffs; and if he will state also the aggregate cost of administering the tillage Order last season.
(a) The number of inspectors at present employed is 64. In addition, there are 49 supervisors assisting the inspectors in certain areas; (b) the number of clerical and other staffs at present employed is 56; and the aggregate cost of administering the tillage Order last season was approximately £60,000. This included £26,520 on the Vote of the Irish Land Commission for salaries of Land Commission staff on loan to my Department.