I move amendment No. 1:
In page 2, line 24, to delete "three" and substitute "fifteen".
As it stands, the section says there shall be reliefs given in respect of farm buildings, outoffices and other buildings which are begun and completed in the period of three years ending on 31st day of March, 1963, and my reason for moving the amendment is as stated by Deputy Dillon on Second Reading. During the war years, we in this country were prohibited from using essential materials on the building of outoffices, barns, stables and cowsheds, owing to the scarcity of these commodities. None of the requisite materials was available for buildings such as these, but, from 1947 or 1948, onwards, there was a drive to improve farm buildings when the essential materials again became available.
In or about that time, we had a trade agreement with Great Britain which gave a certain amount of impetus to the agricultural industry, particularly to beef and livestock generally. Farmers took advantage of the availability of building materials to improve their farm buildings. They were exhorted to do so by various Ministers for Agriculture and grants were made available to them. We had the drive for the pasteurisation of milk and farm buildings were improved. Now for the past few years, there has been a drive for the eradication of bovine tuberculosis and farmers have done a considerable amount of improvement. This section as it stands will give relief only to those who build their farm buildings within the three years ending 31st March, 1963. In other words, any person who built before 31st March last will get no relief whatever but any person who built or builds between 31st March last and 31st March, 1963, will get certain reliefs from taxation.
In reply to Deputy Dillon, the Minister said he could not see his way to go back to give relief to those who carried out those improvements in the past. He said a date had to be fixed. The reason we asked him to fix 1948 is that on that date building material became available. It is unfair to penalise those farmers who pioneered these schemes. At the same time as we are victimising the people who showed initiative in the building of these various outoffices, we are giving relief to laggards, those who hung back and did nothing to improve their farmyards until this incentive was given to them under this Bill.
I think that would be very unfair. When Deputy Dillon suggested 1949, the Minister said to him: "Why not make it 1939?" Of course, if it were made 1939, the 20 years would have elapsed in most cases. In any event, there was no building between 1939 and 1948. I ask the Minister to accept this amendment and give relief to those farmers who were the pioneers in farm building improvement.