asked the Minister for Finance if he can state the amount received by the non-farming community by way of social services, subsidies on consumer goods, grants for housing and other purposes, and other contributions from the State and local authorities.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Services for Non-Farming Community.
I estimate that the total amount to be disbursed from the Exchequer during the current financial year in respect of services of the kind referred to in the Deputy's question as related to non-farming community will be of the order of £13,000,000. It would not be practicable without communicating with individual local authorities and, consequently, without an undue expenditure of time and labour, to ascertain with any reasonable degree of approximation the probable expenditure of such authorities over the wide range of services covered by the question. I may, however, say that, so far as health and certain of the social welfare services are concerned, it is estimated that corresponding local authority expenditure will be of the order of £2,400,000. These figures do not include expenditure on contributory insurance services, such as national health and unemployment insurance, nor do they include some items of a capital nature or loan charges. It must be appreciated that the figures are to a substantial degree based on assumptions, and that they must be regarded as subject to many qualifications. The records available do not permit of ready classification as between farming and non-farming communities and, broadly speaking, it is only practicable to distinguish as between urban areas and the rest of the country, and the rest of the country may include, for example, road workers and workers in provincial factories.
In view of the fact that the Minister's reply shows that the subsidising of the non-agricultural section of the community is greater than of the agricultural section of the community, will he take steps to prevent the farming community from being slandered in the future to the effect that they are being subsidised by the general public?
The assumption on which the Deputy's question is founded is entirely wrong. I have not made any statement that would lead to the conclusion that the non-farming section of the community is subsidised more heavily than the farming section.
Did not the Minister state in reply to a question of Deputy Larkin that they were being subsidised to the extent of £10,000,000?
The Deputy has misunderstood. The figure £10,000,000 which I gave in reply to Deputy Larkin had to do with subventions in order to reduce the costs of production while the Deputy's question refers to an entirely different matter. I have given the figure of £13,000,000 as far as the non-farming community is concerned, but the farmers' share of the subventions to these services might possibly be another £13,000,000.
Would the Minister tell us the difference between subventions and subsidies?