The House and, indeed, the country will be expecting to hear from the Minister for Finance and from the Government in general, what, if any, policy they are to put to the electorate before the next general election. Those of us who listened to the speeches from the Fianna Fáil benches last week and the week before on this Vote on Account are quite satisfied that the Government are living very far from reality and that they apparently have lost complete touch with rural Ireland. They have lost complete touch with the activities in our provincial towns. We have even reached the stage where they are turning the blind eye and giving the deaf ear to the great problems facing our cities.
Listening attentively to the speeches of Fianna Fáil Deputies, we cannot help thinking that if there is such a thing left in public life as men with hard and determined necks—courageous men—they must be found in the Fianna Fáil Party because I have not heard from a Fianna Fáil Deputy any expression of appreciation for one moment of any good act performed by any Government or Party in the State except themselves. The Fine Gael Party have a record of proud service to the people of this country. The last Government was a Government which played a noble part in the building up of our agricultural industry. They laid the foundation for the commencement of the numerous industries that the present Government are boasting about having established during their term of office.
Deputy Corry, when addressing the House last week, described the great prosperity which he alleges existed in parts of his constituency. It must be borne in mind that it was during the term of office of the inter-Party Government, and due to the efforts of the Ministers of the day, that the present oil refinery at Whitegate exists. It is certainly an achievement for the inter-Party Government. Not a single word of credit has been given in that regard.
It must be borne in mind that the oil refinery at Whitegate—a project which cost over £12,000,000—was initiated and negotiated during the lifetime of that Government. I venture to say, without the slightest fear of contradiction, that if it were not for the inter-Party Government, the St. Patrick's Copper Mines in Avoca, and the oil refinery, would never have materialised; if it were not for the fact that we had a Government in office which had the initiative, foresight, skill and ability to undertake projects of that kind they would never have come to fruition. Coupled with the great development of the copper mines in County Wicklow and the oil refinery, we find that the scheme for the eradication of bovine tuberculosis was commenced when the Fine Gael Party were associated with government in this country.
I am very sorry to say that during the past four years not alone the farming community but every section of the community have had a raid made on their livelihoods. It may be said that we have an unemployment problem which we have, and that we have an emigration problem to an extent which the country has never previously experienced, but those people who are left behind, people in business in our provincial towns, are suffering very seriously through the lack of business. In many cases shops have been closed down due to emigration and business firms have ceased to function.
It is well known that in the West of Ireland scores of what were once pleasant homesteads are now locked up; the doors have been bolted, sheets of galvanised iron have been placed across the windows and entire families have emigrated. Previously it was a case of one or two from each family emigration but in the past year or 18 months, we have had a new form of emigration, a more serious type of emigration, from rural Ireland—the emigration of entire families and not merely just one or two. There is a serious drain of young people, while even old people are being forced to emigrate because of the deliberate policy of the Government. There is no use saying that it is not the responsibility of the Government. It is the duty of the Government to provide for the citizens under their care. This is a Government who have shown no thought and no consideration by efforts to cater for the people. The Government seem to take emigration as something which is inevitable and cannot be remedied. Every one of us in public life must be aware of the stripping of the countryside of its population which has taken place in most areas in the midlands and in many areas in the west and south. In County Cork we have seen instances where parishes have practically disappeared, where schools are on the verge of being closed and many areas where the rural population has disappeared completely.
What greater evidence can we have in regard to the seriousness of emigration than a recent pronouncement of His Lordship the Bishop of Cork, Dr. Lucey, when he spoke to the congregation at Kinsale, County Cork? He is reported as having said that there are two distinctly unpleasant truths about this country which are not being faced up to. He went on to say that, due to emigration, the population was falling steadily to new low levels and the national debt increasing as never before. His Lordship is reported as saying that there was no questioning of these truths. There were census figures which showed that in the five-year period, 1951-56 the population fell to an all-time low level of 2,898,000— more than 200,000 people emigrated during that period—and for 1957 and 1958 the emigration figures were even higher.
That is a report of a pronouncement made by the Bishop of Cork, speaking in his own diocese. His Lordship concluded by saying that recently a Minister for State, if reported correctly, had declared: "Emigration is going to be a permanent feature of Irish life." Now, if emigration is going to be a permanent feature of Irish life what future is there for the young people, or for anyone, under a Government who have shown the white flag, forgotten their promises, failed in their obligations to the people and who are closing their eyes to the masses of people fleeing from the towns and cities and the land?
I want to charge the Fianna Fáil Party with national sabotage because if there was ever a political Party in this country set up to damage the economy, smash the confidence of the people, deprive them of their livelihoods, compel them to leave their lands, force working class people out of the country and deliberately attempt to destroy the agricultural community on which the foundations of this State rest, it is that Party.
I should like to hear from the Minister for Finance or from any Fianna Fáil Deputy as to who are better off today than they were 12 months ago. It is clear that people in every walk of life are worse off. There is less work and more emigration; farmers' incomes are falling drastically; and the future, as indicated by prices for next season, holds out no great hope. The local authorities are faced with the need to increase rates drastically, mainly because of the Health Act which was brought in by the Government and which they were advised at the time was unworkable. While the ratepayers are asked to pay millions to implement this Health Act, fewer people are getting the benefit of health services than ever before.
It is only right to remind the Government that before the last general election and for the first three months of their lifetime, the old promise of the 100,000 jobs was on their lips from the Taoiseach down, but when the Taoiseach was questioned in relation to the undertaking to provide 100,000 new jobs, he said he never gave it, never made any such promise. Does not everybody in the House and every voter know, to their great regret, that an undertaking was given to provide 100,000 new jobs and that it was on the strength of that undertaking that the Minister for Finance sits where he sits to-day? Fianna Fáil knew they had no notion of providing 100,000 new jobs. The test of that promise and of their policy is that to-day there are 51,000 fewer people working than were working when the promise was made. A general explanation is required from the Government of their all-round conduct.
It is very gratifying to know that the Government have now run the full length of their tether. They have been found out as having deceived the people over the cost of living, as having deceived the farmers over wheat and barley prices, as having abolished the Local Authorities (Works) Act which provided great employment all over the country and enabled very useful work by way of drainage to be done, as having partly scrapped the land reclamation scheme by abolishing Section B and as having attempted to abolish the parish plan, not counting the promise they solemnly gave the people in regard to food subsidies. As a result, bread, butter, flour, cigarettes and beer are all dearer to-day. There was a time when the Budget was the occasion of the presentation of the annual bill of taxation to the people. Now, we have not alone one Budget in the year, but every week we are presented with some kind of a budget by Fianna Fáil.
All over the country, and in rural Ireland particularly, we have had an unreasonable and drastic rise in E.S.B. charges. I do not care what the Minister for Transport and Power may say —this is a Government responsibility and collectively the Government are responsible for approving these all-round increases. These increases are unreasonable, especially in view of the fact that farmers were advised to avail of electricity. The farmer's income has been drastically reduced and county rates substantially increased and on top of this, there is a substantial increase in E.S.B. charges. We also have higher postal charges. Recklessly, and with complete disregard for the people's capacity to pay, the Government have approved many increases in postal charges and rates, telephone costs and other services administered by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.
We also have a very substantial increase in the prices of drugs and medicines, which seriously affects all sections of the community. We have higher bus and train charges and motor transport costs have gone up considerably, particularly in the past four years, with the approval of the Government. Every motorist now must pay more for his insurance. The cost of keeping a car or a lorry on the roads has greatly increased. Petrol is 6d. per gallon dearer than it was before the Government took office. But we are told by Fianna Fáil that times were never so good and that people are better off. We are told by some of the Fianna Fáil Party that people are better off than when the inter-Party Government were in office. Only a lunatic would agree that conditions are better now than four years ago. Markets and fairs in country towns have completely disappeared and business in country areas seems to be at a complete standstill. Government policy is certainly responsible for that.
A very serious position is arising in rural Ireland in relation to the vast amount of valuable land being bought up by foreigners. I hope that the right of free sale will be maintained and cherished as it has always been. It is probably one of the most important rights of any citizen who owns property, but we now find that, apart from emigration and unemployment and higher living costs, another very serious attack is being made on the livelihood of our people, that is, the purchase of a great amount of land by foreigners. Despite the fact that huge tracts of land are being bought by foreigners all over the country, farmers' sons, who are well prepared, financed and equipped to work land, cannot get it. The emigrant ship is there for them. They are deprived of a livelihood in their own country while large tracts of land are being purchased by foreigners. I feel that the Government have the responsibility and the duty to see that the time does not come when the best of our land will be in the ownership of people who are completely foreign.
In that regard, I want to say that the Fine Gael Party have a policy. Despite all the Fianna Fáil speeches and the lip sympathy which they give to the question, they seem to have no policy whatever in relation to the purchase of land by aliens. The time has now come when the entire land policy of the Government and the activities of the Land Commission should be reviewed and steps taken to operate a system whereby young farmers could lease land on a rent basis, thereby reserving their capital for the purchase of stock and equipment. Are we to stand by and see the best land in Ireland being purchased by foreigners when our young farmers cannot get land? We have an institution called the Land Commission which, in my opinion, is out of date and which was never intended to be a permanent institution, in the first instance. That is why I feel that the policy of Fine Gael in this matter is something which must be put very clearly for progressive action on the part of the people.
The time has also come, if we are to keep our people on the land, when the Government should take steps to increase the minimum acreage deemed necessary for an economic holding. Most of our very small holdings are not economic. I am of the opinion that the Government can style no holding as economic, unless it is in the region of 45 acres and has sufficient tillage and grazing attached to support a family. It is high time the Government took serious action in this matter and the sooner the entire policy is reviewed the better.
The Government should also direct their attention to the matter of land acquisition and should take steps to suspend such acquisition, except in cases where there are very large holdings on the public market. When that happens, the Department of Lands should enter the public market and purchase the land in the ordinary way and then arrange for the renting or leasing of that land to the most deserving people in the surrounding area.