asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state in regard to a farmer who has drained his farm under the Land Project what power he has to secure an outlet through his neighbour's farm.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Farm Drainage Outlets.
11.
I know of no specific legal powers by which a farmer could compel a neighbouring farmer to give him an outlet for the drainage of his lands through the lands of the neighbour.Usually the matter is settled by mutual consent of the parties concerned.
I put down this question deliberately because I know of a number of instances in which people were facilitated to drain their lands through the Land Project and now find they have no outlet. There have been objections where neighbours have disagreed.Can the Minister say if there is any way of overcoming the difficulties in such cases?
I cannot see any way of meeting these particular difficulties which arise from time to time everywhere but not to any great extent. Sometimes the disagreement has to do with the amount of the contribution which the different parties have to make and there may be some merit on the side of the objectors. It would be a mistake to say that the few objections that do arise have no merit. However, this is not a question that has arisen only recently. It is a very old question and has been examined by different Ministers of different Governments and it is not a question to which it is easy to find a reasonable solution.
Would not reimplementation of the Local Authorities (Works) Act go a long way towards providing a solution?
In case of certain works which were being carried out by the Government through the local authorities, there were powers to enter on lands. The number of occasions on which these compulsory powers were used was very few.
I put down the question to see if the Local Authorities (Works) Act or the powers contained in it could be used in specific cases of this kind. The Minister is right in saying that the objector may not be getting any benefit whatever from the scheme but could the Minister do anything towards finding a solution to the problem?
I have given all the information available to me and I see no solution to the problem. I am aware of only a small number of such cases.