asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state the number of applicants in West Donegal who have made application for grants under the land rehabilitation project and who have requested the Department to carry out the work and the number of such applications on which the work has been so carried out.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Rehabilitation Project.
Mr. Walsh
I would refer the Deputy to the statistics by county furnished to Deputies on the 27th October last. It is not the practice to compile statistics for parts of counties.
Is the Minister aware that in West Donegal a number of applicants applied almost 18 months ago for grants under the scheme, the work to be carried out by the Minister's officials; and not one solitary application has yet been granted?
Mr. Walsh
I have already submitted a report dealing with each county. West Donegal was not segregated, I know, but at the moment the difficulty is to get machinery.
Machinery would not be necessary in our county. We have a serious unemployment problem and we could absorb a considerable number of unemployed on these schemes.
Mr. Walsh
On which scheme?
The land rehabilitation project.
Mr. Walsh
There are A. and B. sections. Which one?
Where the work is carried out by the Minister.
Mr. Walsh
That is a question for machinery.
Would the Minister say where the machinery comes from?
Mr. Walsh
The orders were placed by my predecessor.
And the Minister for Finance will not allow them to be brought in now.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will indicate the amount of money available during the current year for work under the land rehabilitation scheme.
Mr. Walsh
I would refer the Deputy to the Book of Estimates for the Public Services for the current year, from which it will be seen that the amount provided in the Vote for Agriculture, under sub-head M (11)—Land Rehabilitation Project—is £2,500,000.