asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware that under the Agricultural Credit Act, 1961, the Agricultural Credit Corporation is empowered to provide hire purchase facilities; and when the Corporation proposes to engage in hire purchase business.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agricultural Credit Corporation.
3.
The Corporation intends to establish a hire purchase division and is at present engaged in looking for staff. It is expected that it will not be possible for the division to commence operations for three months or so.
4.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will indicate, in respect of the 915 applications for loans which were approved but not issued under the Agricultural Credit Corporation's ordinary loans scheme, why the applications were not proceeded with; and if he will have a survey carried out to ascertain why such loans are not taken up.
The Corporation in most cases is not aware of the reasons why loans which have been approved are not taken up. It is only very rarely that an applicant states why he is not proceeding with a loan. It should also be borne in mind that many of the loans sanctioned in a certain financial year are not and cannot be issued until the following financial year. It is not correct to assume that, because the number of loans approved in the period 1st May, 1963 to 8th April, 1964, exceeded the number issued by 915, all these 915 applications will not be proceeded with. Some of them will certainly be issued in due course.
I am not prepared to interfere in the ordinary proceedings of the Corporation as requested in the last part of the question.
5.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will take steps to have application form A3 issued by the Agricultural Credit Corporation shortened and simplified, as some of the questions appear to be of limited value.
The Corporation's application form A.3 has been designed to meet the Corporation's needs and, in the opinion of the Corporation, contains no unnecessary questions.