Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 24 Oct 1956

Vol. 160 No. 1

National Loan, 1956. - Local Government (Temporary Reduction of Valuation) Bill, 1956—Second and Subsequent Stages.

Minister for Local Government (Mr. O'Donnell)

I move that this Bill be now read a Second Time. The purpose of this Bill is to extend to the 31st March, 1960, the period within which the erection, enlargement or improvement of a building must be completed in order to qualify for the two-thirds remission of rates for seven years provided by Part II of the Local Government (Temporary Reduction of Valuation) Act, 1954.

Part II of the 1954 Act provided for the granting of two-thirds remission of rates for a period of seven years on the valuation of buildings and on the total increase in valuation of existing buildings that are enlarged or improved, where the work on the construction, enlargement or improvement was begun and completed in the period commencing on 27th July, 1953, and ending on 26th July, 1956. The remission does not apply to houses erected by local authorities under the Labourers Acts or the Housing of the Working Classes Acts and owned by a local authority, houses in respect of which grants or rates remission were given under the Housing Acts, or under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts, farm buildings receiving relief from rates under Section 14 of the Valuation (Ireland) Act, 1852, or premises in respect of which a local authority has decided to remit rates under Section 9 of the Undeveloped Areas Act, 1952. Subject to these exceptions the remission applies to all buildings including hotels, shops, factories, offices and dwelling-houses. Where a building is enlarged during the prescribed period and in the revised valuation following that enlargement earlier improvements or additions are taken into account the remission also applies to those earlier improvements and additions.

In the years 1920 to 1939 all buildings of the type covered by the present Bill received rates remission. Between 1939 and 1953, however, the remission was confined to dwelling-houses. The 1954 Act, which was introduced by my predecessor, restored the concession of rates remission to buildings other than dwelling-houses. The intention of this Act was to expedite projects of a building or constructional character.

I am informed that the task of compiling statistics of the number of buildings which received this remission would necessitate the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of time and labour. On a rough estimate, however, it would appear that about 1,500 premises per annum receive the benefits of the Act.

When the previous Bill was being debated many members of the House felt that its period of application was too short and my predecessor indicated that the question of an extension could be considered when the period of application of the Bill expired.

All rates remissions must be met either from taxation or by other ratepayers. The concession given by the 1954 Act is met by other ratepayers, but I feel that it is a desirable one and that it does tend to accelerate building projects. This Bill, therefore, proposes the extension of the concession for a further period.

Mr. Smith

We of this Party naturally have no objection to offer to the extension which is proposed here of the remission of rates provided in the Act of 1954. When we were informed that this Bill would come before the House to-day, I just glanced through the discussion that took place here some two years ago and I was amused at some of the criticisms which were then offered to the proposals at the time, and especially amused by a colleague of the Minister who is now also a member of the present Government. He gave the House then to understand that his Party had a scheme for the relief of rates and for meeting the problem which the existing Act was designed to solve or meet in some limited way. He complained of the title of the Bill at the time—Remission of Rates Bill—and he pointed out that while, as he called it, this miserable concession was being given to those who undertook improvements and extensions of their premises, the increased valuation would be used against them in matters of income-tax and in a number of other ways to which he referred.

The present Minister did not take part in the discussion on the original Bill but it is an extraordinary thing that, in a period of at least two years, the Fine Gael Party of which the present Minister is a member did not have time to propose amendments to the existing legislation along the lines that were then suggested as possible and along the lines then suggested by the present Minister for Health as part of the policy of the Party of which he was a member. I suppose suggestions made in such circumstances by Deputies who have not the responsibility of Government, even although they are responsible members of their Party, cannot be taken at their face value but there is no doubt that the Minister's Party have had a history over the last number of years, when in opposition, of giving expression to proposals of one kind or another which, when they came face to face with them as members of a Government, they did not seem to make even the slightest attempt to implement.

The Bill was originally introduced to encourage the extension and renovation of premises so that employment would result. There never was a time when it was as necessary as it is now to give further concessions along the lines of the existing legislation in order to stimulate employment in the building world in rural areas and, indeed, in the city. I cannot resist reminding the Minister that, in spite of that necessity, the same proposals which were described by the Minister's colleagues, when conditions were very good indeed in the matter of employment, as mean and miserable, are being offered again although the situation to be met now is 100 times worse than it was then from the point of view of employment.

As a result of Government action of one kind or another, the building business has in the last six or seven months received blow after blow from which it will not recover as a result of a proposal such as this but, to whatever extent this Bill is helpful in the matter of giving employment, then, just as we designed this measure originally and had it enacted for the purpose I have stated, we now, naturally, will support the Minister in having it extended for a further period of three years.

Mr. O'Donnell

I appreciate very much indeed what Deputy Smith has said but we should bear in mind that the old Cumann na nGaedheal Government deserves some credit for its encouragement to builders. Before Deputy Corry or I came into this House they, first in 1925, introduced a Bill which became an Act for the remission of rates, and they followed that up in 1927 with a somewhat similar Act. I give credit to my predecessor for the Bill he introduced some few years ago. I am merely trying to give effect to the desire which was expressed here by a number of Deputies when they said that the period was too short in the 1954 Act. It is for that purpose that I am now introducing the present Bill.

Deputy Smith has made a very sweeping statement. He says that the building trade has received many severe blows. It is very, very easy to make these statements. I hope to see the day when we will have no further building in this country, when we will have reached saturation point, when we will have sufficient dwelling-houses for all our people, when we will have sufficient factories for all our people to work in.

I have heard many speakers from the Opposition Benches and read their speeches down the country where they said that the building of schools, vocational and primary, is at a standstill but, in reply to a parliamentary question to-day, the Minister for Education, General Mulcahy, stated that £250,000 more was being expended this year on the building of vocational schools than was spent last year and £220,000 more was being expended on the building of national schools than was spent last year.

It is all very fine to make these sweeping statements to the effect that less building is being done. There are as many houses being built to-day by Dublin Corporation as there were this day twelve months—just as many houses being built. I question if some local authorities have not reached saturation point in this building business.

I hope to do what the Tánaiste explained to-day in regard to rural electrification—to taper off gradually our building programme, and that we will not reach the stage when all building will cease on one day when we reach saturation point. Let us taper off gradually.

I am glad indeed of the manner in which Deputy Smith met the Second Reading of this Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Agreed to take remaining stages now.

Bill considered in Committee.

SECTION 1.

Question proposed: "That Section 1 stand part of the Bill."

Mr. O'Donnell

Part II of the Local Government (Temporary Reduction of Valuation) Act, 1954, provides for the granting of two-thirds remission of rates for a period of seven years on the valuation of new buildings and on the total increase in valuation of existing buildings that are enlarged or improved, where the work on the construction, enlargement or improvement is begun and completed during the prescribed period. This remission does not apply to a cottage or house erected under the Labourers Acts or the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, and owned by the local authority, a house in respect of which a grant or rates remission was given under the Housing Acts or under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts, farm buildings receiving relief from rates under Section 14 of the Valuation (Ireland) Act, 1952, and premises in respect of which a local authority has decided to remit rates under Section 9 of the Undeveloped Areas Act, 1952.

In sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the 1954 Act the prescribed period is defined as the period beginning on the 27th day of July, 1953, and ending on the 26th July, 1956.

The effect of Section 1 is to provide that the period within which works of construction, enlargement or improvement must be begun and completed in order to qualify for rates remission shall be the period beginning on 27th day of July, 1953, and ending on 31st March, 1960.

Question put and agreed to.

Section 2 and Title agreed to.

Bill reported without amendment, received for final consideration and passed.