I propose to be brief on this Estimate. The Parliamentary Secretary has reported on his prowards posals for the coming year. By and large, he and his Department have been doing a very good job. They cover a wide range of activities involving harbours, canals, rivers, coast erosion, national monuments, Houses of the Oireachtas, the Civil Service, the Garda and practically every building occupied by State employees. To satisfy all demands at any particular time would probably absorb all of one year's budget. We are faced with deterioration of existing buildings and we know that either their sale and replacement or their reconstruction is required. In so far as the efficient working of the Civil Service, the Garda and other people is concerned, I would be the first to urge the Office of Public Works to make available as quickly as possible adequate modern, good, working facilities for these people. There is no doubt in my mind that to obtain the best results from these employees of the State, one must provide them with the best conditions expected as a norm today.
We have down through the years sadly failed to consider the provision of proper office facilities for our civil servants, and, indeed, for the Garda and many other sections, and it is going to take huge sums of money to do this properly. We all know that there is on the Statute Book for many years now an Act providing for minimum conditions in which people will work in offices and that it has not yet been applied, so far as I know. This job falls on the Office of Public Works in so far as the Government are concerned, and one can sympathise with them in the planning and programming and the selection of the priorities in relation to how the limited amount of money made available each year can best be spent to produce the best and quickest results at a particular time.
If I concern myself with my own consituency, I will not be out of turn if I say that on the list of priorities— it is listed, and I hope it will remain listed, and that we will get on with it, although it is fairly low down—is the drainage and catchment area of the Owenmore river and its tributaries. I have spoken on this ad nauseam to not alone the present but the previous Parliamentary Secretary to try to get this survey completed and the necessary detailed work done, but one tends to lose hope as to when it might or might not be done. A new element always creeps in, that is, the feasibility study of a scheme and whether the money spent on a particular scheme could not be better spent somewhere else.
People in this House have accented the value of agricultural land, have done so in terms of value. I would accent it in a slightly different way, not on its value but as an asset of the nation, which has a productive value but also has a social value, and we all know that while farming tends to become more and more looked upon as an industry rather than a way of life, it is largely yet a way of life for many of our people in the poorer parts of the country. They have not got down yet to a full realisation that it is, in fact, a section of our industry and that its careful exploitation must be undertaken and the maximum benefit obtained from this asset. They are being, and are, held back by the slowness in relation to drainage problems. We talk about rivers like the Owenmore and any other river in Ireland, and, indeed, about the Woodford canal in which I have an interest for years. These also are necessary to be done so that ordinary simple drainage schemes a long way from the outfall into these rivers are effective and that land which is going sour from being waterlogged for years, farmers not being encouraged to fertilise and lime these lands, can be sweetened up, and we all know that this can be done. This is the feasibility study that is being done on many rivers at present, and the catchment area related to the cost.
I still feel that even though it may not appear to be a viable proposition to drain a particular river, one has to bear in mind as we must as a Government, the social content in all this work so far as residents in that area are concerned who are endeavouring to the best of their ability to obtain a minimum living and that is about all they will ever be able to hope for. Neglect or delay of these drainage schemes will bring with it frustration and hopelessness and deterioration in the hopes and aspirations of the farmers. I would urge that these schemes be given a somewhat higher priority because of this very factor alone, as well as the fact that they can, will and do contribute to what is commonly known now as the gross national product, and do also provide for the psychological, psychiatric condition of our people living in these areas when they see hope and progress ahead of them rather than facing frustration for years, which means that many of them ultimately collapse because of falling interest, which, unfortunately, has its side effects which do not concern us in this Estimate. I make this the No. 1 priority. All the other things are important but they must take their place in the list of priorities, and we must concern ourselves, in the expenditure of money, with those which have the greatest social benefit as well as contributing to the growth of our economy and of our national income and earnings.
I was surprised to hear the Deputy from Cavan say that no work had been started on the Woodford Canal. I thought I had read that some machines had been moved in there and that this work was being done by and with a Bord Fáilte grant. I am sure Deputy Fitzpatrick is right but I must check out that position because I understood we were proceeding with it, although the drainage of the Erne was a matter of consultation between the two Governments in this island. Because of the present position this has been more or less forgotten.
This area of Cavan, Leitrim and Fermanagh is one where immediate co-operation is necessary because this problem exists on both sides of the river and on both sides of the Border. I would urge that this should be done. The opening up of this canal from Lough Erne into the Shannon, which is known as the Woodford-Bally-connell Canal, would have a definite tourist potential. It would attract many people. It would benefit people in Leitrim, in Cavan and in Northern Ireland. I look upon it as our total national territory and for the benefit of all our people. I would like to see schemes attended to in Border areas which would benefit people on both sides of the Border.
Coming back to Sligo, there was a tragedy there at the weekend involving two fishing boats in which four people lost their lives. I cannot express in words my sympathy with those families. I knew personally the people who lost their lives. Luckily enough, Enniscrone pier, into which they were coming, was improved many years ago and, as far as I know, this tragedy did not occur because of any neglect but because a strong wind turned the boat over. I shall merely comment that I have been told—I do not know how true it is—that fishermen and men who go to sea in ships seldom learn to swim. I have met a number of fishermen who have told me they do not know how to swim. In some other time and place this should be looked into and those who derive their livelihood from water and its products should all be trained in life-saving and should certainly be able to swim.
I have asked the Parliamentary Secretary to look into the question of coast erosion at Enniscrone. There is a serious problem there. I know it has been surveyed and I hope work will commence in the not too distant future. Each year it is neglected the cost becomes greater, apart from inflation.
The Office of Public Works are responsible for the provision of national schools. We know that some national schools are not fit to be used for any purpose and are certainly unsuitable for children. One would like to see a rush programme carried out in this field.
Some Garda stations leave a lot to be desired and housing accommodation for gardaí should be looked into. In every centre where there is a garda there should be a house in which he could live rather than leaving him to his own devices to find a suitable house at a reasonable rent. The price of houses in rural areas and towns is exorbitant at present and rents are high because building costs are high. It is a strain on a garda not knowing where he will be required to serve, at least in the early years of his service, to be posted from station to station, sometimes not able to get "digs" if he is a single man or if he is a married man unable to get a house. The case of married men should be examined. I believe that houses for gardaí should be built and that the commissioner should transfer married gardaí to areas where services, particularly education services, are available. They do this in so far as they can, but I would like to see more of it done. For a married garda to be posted to a town where there is a secondary school is of great benefit to him. If he is posted to a town where there is not a secondary school he must send his children away and despite the availability of buses and so on it is a risk. I should like to see the need for the provision of day rooms, detention rooms, and so on noted.
I welcome the restoration of abbeys. The present incumbent of the office of Parliamentary Secretary has a ready ear for such proposals. He is always prepared to see the cultural value of some of our older buildings and, where possible, to have them listed for preservation. I was in Thurles recently and I went out to Holycross. It was nice to see that very old abbey with its historical associations being restored as a parish church and brought back into use. I first saw it about 15 years ago and hoped something would be done. I wrote a note about it at that time, even before I came into the House, pointing out that the abbey was in a good state of preservation and should be restored, I would compliment the Deputies representing the area who have helped in its restoration. The work has been well done.
There are many monuments throughout the country. In Sligo there is a tremendous number of megalithic burial grounds and tombs of all descriptions. I do not know why there should be so many in Sligo. One would have to read a great deal of history to find the reason. One can only conjecture.
The work being carried out in the passage graves near Drogheda is very commendable. I do not know the amount of money earned there. It would be interesting to know the return obtained from the money expended. I regret that I had not time to look it up. I am sure it is contained in the Book of Estimates.
The Moy River has been drained. This river rises in Sligo and flows through Mayo. Along the river there are many spoil heaps. I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to report to the Commissioners of Public Works the fact that some of these spoil heaps are being dumped back into the river. They should consider the feasibility of making these spoil heaps useful to farmers on whose lands they are deposited. For some 150 feet in from the river one very often finds the best land on a farm. The spoil heaps are thrown up on this firm ground. The farmer realises that this is a valuable sector of his land and is anxious to get back the one acre to four acres that he has lost by the drainage. Even though he may have been compensated to some extent for the loss of the land, the farmer is anxious to get that portion of land back into production. Some of these spoil heaps are disappearing slowly but surely. They are being disposed of into the river from which they were taken. If this should continue to happen, the drainage work will be undone. Unfortunately, there are people in our society who are capable of dumping these spoil heaps back into the river. The Office of Public Works should consider what can be done about this matter. Where a farmer is determined to rid himself of a spoil heap this should be done with some measure of control and there should be some measure of incentive so that the practice of undoing drainage will not continue. It might fall to the lot of some other body to clean up these rivers again at a later stage and to maintain them. We do not want this as a serious and growing burden.
Deputy Fitzpatrick referred to the air conditioning in this House. I have suffered the same discomfort as Deputy Fitzpatrick has mentioned. At times it would appear that the air conditioning is not working or, at least, that the thermostats are not working to control it in accordance with the plan. I am, however, satisfied that the work was carried out in a satisfactory way. It would be unfair to criticise the Office of Public Works except, perhaps, in regard to the maintenance and as to the checking of the thermostats. Experience has taught me that mechanical services require the constant supervision of a very skilled engineer, who should know the purpose for which the plant is intended. The maintenance engineer may be qualified for the job or it may be new to him or he may be somewhat careless but I am satisfied that something will be done about this matter. I could strongly support Deputy Fitzpatrick in regard to this matter. If this is the best we can do by way of air conditioning and heating, we have a great deal to learn in this field.
Air conditioning is not of itself a particularly difficult problem but it does require the right type of engineering expertise to plan and instal. It is most important that there should be proper maintenance. Any piece of machinery will be delivered in satisfactory working order but it will continue to work satisfactorily only if it is properly maintained. The same applies to air conditioning. I do not think that there is anything wrong with the planning of the air conditioning in this House but I do ask the question as to whether the maintenance engineer is sufficiently knowledgeable to ensure that the plant works satisfactorily. The restaurant is certainly overheated and uncomfortable to sit in for any length of time. The temperature there is far too high. The temperature planned and designed should be maintained and it should be thermostatically fixed.
Thermostats are delicate things and the person in charge of them should know all about them and should know when they are not working properly. They can be deceptive even to a very experienced person. They may require special attention from time to time.
I should like to compliment the Parliamentary Secretary and the Office of Public Works on the work they carried out last year and on their plans for the future. I would ask them to consider the priorities and to ensure that the needs of the people are given every consideration.