asked the Minister for Local Government if he will introduce legislation to increase the £17 allowance now operating for the remission of rates for employment.
40.
Ceisteanna—Questions (Resumed). - Employment Allowances.
39.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will allow the rate remission for employment where the employees do not keep continuity of employment for the full 12 months owing to sickness.
I propose, with your permission a Cheann Comhairle, to take Question Nos. 39 and 40 together.
No change is at present contemplated in the legislation, enacted last June, which provides for substantial increases in the amount of relief from rates for agricultural land. The grant of an employment allowance is a matter for each county council but, in general, local authorities use their discretion to grant allowances where breaks in the continuity of employment in any year do not exceed one month in the aggregate.
Can the Minister tell me when the £17 allowance first became operative?
That is a separate question.
It was 1953.
Does the Minister not agree there has been a considerable change in the value of money since then and a considerable expansion in the rates? In the light of these facts, will he not reconsider——
Other reliefs have been given since which more than compensate for the decrease in the value of money.
That may well be, but does the Minister not agree that this legislation was introduced for the purpose of encouraging employment on the land?
It is doubtful if it had that effect.
Does the Minister know any farmer who employs a man the whole year round because of the £17?
I do not know if it has had any significant effect from that point of view.