National Monuments (Amendment) Bill, 1954—Committee and Final Stages.

Section 1 to 7, inclusive, agreed to.

SECTION 8.

Mr. Moylan

I move amendment No. 1:—

In sub-section (3), line 45, before "commence" to insert "and under the supervision of an officer appointed by the commissioners".

I wonder if the Minister will agree to the insertion of these words. I take it that, when the commissioners notify the owner of a certain piece of property, he should not be allowed to make any alterations or to undertake any excavations, without supervision by the Board of Works. It is quite possible that damage might be done to the structure by irresponsible persons. I wish to put no undue curb on his activities in protecting his own interests, but if these national monuments are considered of sufficient importance to be taken over by the Board of Works, every precaution should be taken, from the moment they are taken over or notice is served, to preserve the structure properly. I do not see any particular reason why the Board of Works should not take cognisance of any action that may be taken by way of alteration or excavation by the owner. I think it is quite a reasonable amendment.

Mr. Sweetman

As I think the Deputy appreciated from the discussion we had on Second Reading, this is only intended to cover cases where there is some very urgent and dangerous necessity. Apart from that, I do not like the Deputy's phraseology—"supervision." That might perhaps imply that the Board of Works were taking over responsibility for what the owner was doing. I think the Deputy could be met quite easily by a different phraseology, such as "without the consent of the commissioners."

Mr. Moylan

All I want to prevent is damage to the structure.

Mr. Sweetman

I would be prepared to insert an amendment on Report Stage to provide that no action could be taken in this respect "without the consent of the commissioners" instead of using the word "supervision".

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Section 8 agreed to.

Sections 9, 10 and 11 agreed to.

SECTION 12.

Mr. P.S. Doyle

I move amendment No. 2:—

Before Section 12 to insert a new section as follows:—

Section 22 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for sub-section (2) of the following:—

(2) Every local advisory committee shall consist of such number of persons, not less than three nor more than ten, as the local authority by whom the same is established shall appoint to be members thereof.

I move this amendment as a member of the Dublin Corporation. The quorum of corporation committees is generally three. The members of the city council are almost full-time occupied attending various committees and boards, and it is a matter of considerable difficulty to ensure a quorum of three for a committee whose maximum number of members is five. If, however, the number is increased to ten, as suggested in the amendment, it would be more possible to obtain a quorum for the transaction of their business by these committees.

Mr. Sweetman

I have no objection to the amendment, if the House is agreeable.

Amendment agreed to.

Section 12, as amended, agreed to.

Sections 13 to 19, inclusive, and Title agreed to.

Bill reported with amendment.

Amendment put and agreed to.

Bill received for final consideration and passed.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 10 Nov 1954