Vol. 197 No. 3
asked the Minister for Local Government whether he is aware of the long interval which frequently elapses between the date on which the reconstruction of a house is completed and the date when payment of the reconstruction grant is made by his Department, with the result that the local authorities are unable to pay their share of the total grant punctually, however anxious they may be to do so; and if he will take steps to eliminate these delays.
65.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will arrange for a series of local enquiries or a general enquiry in order to ascertain what improvements in the present methods of sanctioning and paying reconstruction grants can be made.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 65 together. I am aware that for various reasons delays can occur from time to time in the sanctioning and payment of reconstruction grants and that such delays can affect supplementary grant payments by local authorities. The general position in relation to the procedure for payment of grants is under constant review in my Department and every effort is made to minimise delays which, I may mention, are not always attributable to the Department. I am satisfied that the present procedure is generally satisfactory and that the holding of a series of Local Inquiries or a general Inquiry in the matter, as suggested by the Deputy, would serve no useful purpose.
Is the Minister satisfied with the number of inspectors he has employed?
Occasionally I am dissatisfied but at present I think we are about fully manned.
Deputies are far from satisfied. Two-thirds of a Deputy's time is taken up in trying to deal with these arrears.
What does the Deputy think part of my time is taken up with?
It is the Minister's responsibility.
If there are delays— and I think Deputies know the difference between delay and undue delay—I would invite Deputies from all parts of the House to communicate the details directly to me so that I can go into them personally.
The officials in the Minister's Department are very helpful but I would ask the Minister to have more inspectors appointed. That seems to be the difficulty.
It is not quite the difficulty.
It is some of it.
66.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware that institutions such as banks and suppliers of building materials are usually reluctant, and in many cases refuse, to allow advances of credit to persons anxious to undertake reconstruction work, such reluctance being based on their experience of the delay usual in the payment of reconstruction grants; and whether he will take steps to remedy this situation.
I am not so aware.
67.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will give a list of particulars, including the date of completion of reconstruction work and the date of payment of grant, of cases which have arisen during the present financial year and during the two previous financial years, where the delay in payment of reconstruction grants exceeded a period of two months.
I regret that it would not be possible for my Department to compile the information requested by the Deputy.
Could the Minister not take us more into his confidence in regard to the delays referred to in these and the previous questions? While it is true that the officers of his Department are extremely helpful in resolving specific cases, is the Minister aware that it is becoming a cause of embarrassment to Deputies the number of letters they are required to write to the Department and the load of work it must throw on the shoulders of the officers of the Department answering their inquiries arising from delays in this matter? If there is a reason other than a shortage of inspectors or something of that kind, could the Minister not tell the House so that he might seek the co-operation of Deputies in resolving the problem?
When inspectors were in short supply, I made that quite clear as the reason; I am not making that the reason at the moment, nor am I satisfied that there are such undue delays in any appreciable number of cases. I am inviting members of the House who become aware of any such undue delays to furnish me with particulars. As many Deputies know from complaints such as those submitted by them in the past, both to myself and my officers, not always are the facts as they were supposed to be; in other words, very often the case is not complete when submitted to a Deputy. However, let me say that one of the big factors in this matter is the rise in the number of applications for grants.
For that reason, would the Minister not think he should, if possible, get more inspectors, because as far as my experience goes, the delay in payment and the delay in concluding the grant is due to waiting for inspection?
The House might appreciate this, that on 1st September I asked for figures in relation to a particular county, and I need not tell the House the county happened to be my own county.
Even the Minister was worried about Donegal.
I had a number of complaints that appeared to suggest there were undue delays. I found there had been three inspectors operating in County Donegal over the summer months and at 1st September, only 59 cases were on hands. One of the inspectors was therefore transferred to another county where the number of files on hands was greater and justified the transfer. Three weeks later, the total number of files on hands in County Donegal had risen to over 300. That is inexplicable, both to me and my Department. The cases just come in plumps. At one time there are enough inspectors in the county and three weeks later there are too few inspectors. There is no method of always having available in any county the requisite number of inspectors as the cases come due.
Is the Minister satisfied that the change in arrangements he recently made of substituting an inspector from the Department for the old authorised officer, a locally-resident inspector, has not in some measure contributed to the fluctuation in expedition with which claims are dealt with?
The Deputy will appreciate that the posts of these officers to whom he refers were abolished some considerable while ago and that their function solely related to the inspection of the site of a new house. The delays being complained of here, as mentioned by some Deputy, are those occurring in the final payment of the grant. These people never dealt with that matter so that their being there or not being there does not affect the situation.
There were three inspectors in Donegal?
There were.
And two in Cork, the largest county in Ireland.
There is a city there, too, of course.
