Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 15 Jul 1958

Vol. 170 No. 4

Committee on Finance. - Housing (Amendment) Bill, 1958—Money Resolution.

Minister for Local Government (Mr. Blaney)

I move:—

That it is expedient to authorise such payments out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas as are necessary to give effect to any Act of the present session to make further and better provision with respect to housing, to amend and extend the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts, 1932 to 1956, the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, 1890 to 1956, the Labourers Acts, 1883 to 1956, and the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, 1899 to 1957, and to make provision with respect to other matters connected with the matters aforesaid.

Mr. Dillon

Can the Minister give us any estimate of what the probable expenditure under this Money Resolution will be during the current financial year?

Mr. Blaney

The only figure I have at the moment, although I have the other figures the Deputy has asked for, is a broad estimate of approximately £500,000 for the additional draw from the Local Loans Fund in respect of loans and grants.

Mr. Dillon

I understood the Minister, in reply to a parliamentary question, when he was dealing with the Small Dwellings (Acquisition) Acts, gave figures for the financial years 1953-54, 1954-55, 1955-56 and I think he said he had not got the figures as yet for 1957-58. There was another question addressed to the Minister for Finance, in connection with which the Minister for Finance envisaged larger disbursements in respect of housing in connection with the Housing (Amendment) Bill before the House. Perhaps the Minister remembers that. I assumed that some calculation had been made in that connection and, if it were, I thought the Minister might be able to give us the fruits of that calculation on the occasion of this Money Resolution. Perhaps no precise figure was present to the mind of the Minister for Finance when he was speaking, but he appeared to have made an estimate.

Mr. Blaney

On that point, as to what the Minister for Finance had in mind or, indeed, the context in which he made the reply, I am not quite clear. The best I can do for the Deputy in reply to his original question in regard to this Money Resolution is to give an estimate of what we feel may be the requirements, not for the remainder of this year, but for a full year and in regard to the Housing (Amendment) Bill. The cost to the Exchequer in a full year arising from increased demands for grants and the increase in the amount of grants, we feel, will be somewhere in the region of £385,000— that is, for State grants—and, in regard to the draw from the Local Loans Fund by housing authorities in respect of loans and grants, a figure somewhere in the region of £502,000, again related to what we feel may be the estimate for a full year's operation.

Mr. Dillon

So that, under grants for housing for the remainder of this year, there would be an increase of approximately £200,000 and, under the Local Loans Fund and grants to local authorities, about £250,000?

Mr. Blaney

I do not know whether we can break up the year and say that so much of it is left and that that fraction should be taken from these figures. I should not like to agree or disagree on that.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolution reported and agreed to.