asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state (a) the number of applications received under the land project to date; (b) the number of cases, dealt with and (c) of the cases completed, the number in which the work was carried out by his Department.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Project.
Mr. O'Higgins
I would refer the Deputy to the statistical return furnished for the information of members of the Oireachtas on 21st April last. I expect that the next return will be available towards the end of this month. As has already been indicated in replies to previous similar questions the provision at more frequent intervals of such special statistical data would entail a volume of work on the part of the land project staff which I feel would not be justified.
Mr. O'Higgins
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state whether he has available sufficient machinery for the execution of work under the land project and, if not, what steps are being taken to secure additional machinery.
Mr. Walsh
It is assumed that the Deputy's question embraces machinery purchased and operated directly by the Department, and machinery purchased and employed by contractors working for the Department or employed directly by farmers who receive land project grants. It is true that if more machinery were available it would be possible to deal with applications more quickly but there are limitations to the extent to which expansion in this direction is practicable. On the whole, the machinery position is as satisfactory as can reasonably be expected, having due regard to the supply position and the staff available to deal with the work of the land project.