asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware that no loan of any description has been sanctioned by Dublin County Council since December, 1965, owing to the fact that there is no money available; and when money will be made available for such loans, and the amount.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin County Council Loans.
21.
I presume the Deputy is referring to house-purchase loans. I understand that approval has not been issued by Dublin County Council to such loans since 31st December, 1965, pending a decision on their application for sanction to further loan accommodation from the Local Loans Fund. A loan of £250,000 was sanctioned on 20th January last and further loans will be approved in the near future on the basis of the capital allocation for the purpose in the coming financial year which will be notified within a week to the council.
As regards the statement that no money is available to the council for house-purchase loans, I would point out to the Deputy that loan instalments amounting to £450,000 for this purpose were paid to the council to date in the current financial year as compared with £250,000 in the financial year 1964-65. The amount paid from the Fund since 1st January last is £200,000.
Am I not correct in stating that no loans have been sanctioned since December 1965 because there was no money available?
A loan of £250,000 was sanctioned on 20th January.
That was to pay outstanding loans that had been committed.
I could not quite say whether it was for committed loans or otherwise but the final figures I have given the Deputy indicate the situation.
That application was made in the early spring. I think.
The sum of £450,000 so far has been paid for this purpose this year as against £250,000 in the previous year.
Has the Minister the date of application for that handy?
Probably back in October or December of last year.
I am referring to the application for the loan paid out. Is it true it was made in February or March, 1965?
I would not think so.
The Minister will find that it is, as a matter of fact.
In that case, why is the Deputy asking me? If he knows he should not ask me because I do not know.
I thought the Minister should know.
He would know if he were asked the specific question.
In relation to the answering of questions in regard to allocations of loans, the Minister should know that the instalment paid was on an application made early in 1965, not late 1965.
Did the council acquaint the Minister of the number of applications on hand?
Yes.
Will the Minister say what that number is?
I do not know, but I should be able to tell the Deputy when I get the figures, which I have not got here. Again in reply to Deputy Tully, who seems to wish to make something out of when these loans were applied for, the relevant figure is here. In spite of all the furore kicked up about money, the relevant figure is that Dublin County Council to date in this financial year of difficulty has received from this Fund £450,000 as against the comparable figure last year, without any difficulty, of £250,000. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
That is because the building societies and the insurance companies have closed down on loans.
The revelant date is the important thing. I am not trying to embarrass the Minister. I am just trying to make the point that Dublin County Council, as well as other councils, applied for a loan early in 1965 and did not get it until now and have applied for a second loan and have not got it yet.
Dublin County Council have got £450,000, £200,000 of which they have got since the beginning of this year. Therefore, the Deputy can take it that £250,000 had already been given to them during the calendar year, 1965.
During the financial year.
Calendar year.
When the Minister was asked would it not be desirable to place £1 million at the disposal of the building societies, he replied that that necessity did not arise inasmuch as provision was being made to meet the demand through the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act loans. This does not seem to correspond with what has actually happened.
This demonstrates that, in fact, it has happened.
Is there no nine months' delay in the payment of Small Dwelling Acquisition Act loans throughout the country?
There is not.
Is every builder in the city of Dublin not trying to get out because he cannot get loans from insurance companies or building societies? Is it not the position that they are all closing down at the moment?
The Deputy knows as well as I do that what he says is not true.
It is true.
It is not true.
Question No. 22.
Deputy Faulkner will tell the Minister that there are 29 houses standing vacant because nobody has the money to go into them.
There are some builders who have been waiting a year and cannot get the money.
Question No. 22.
It is news to me that if there are 29 houses vacant in the country, there is nobody to go into them. The Deputy must be dreaming of 1956.
Ask Deputy Faulkner. There is nobody fit to pay for them.