Let the Deputy look at the houses if he wants the evidence. It is my intention that the houses to be built by local authorities henceforth will be of a standard equivalent to that accepted as normal for private grant houses and will be in no way inferior in accommodation and amenities simply because they are part of the local authority housing programme. To ensure that this aim will be implemented and to give much needed variety in finish and appearance to local authority schemes, I have had a wide range of architect-designed plans prepared, and these have recently been circulated for the guidance of local authorities, their technical advisers and contractors.
Another feature which must be changed is the practice of using local authorities and their tenants as guinea-pigs for experiments with constructional methods and materials which have not been tested in actual use over a sufficiently long period in this country. I do not set my face against innovations or prefabrication, but where houses can be built in traditional materials at no greater expense, and with little extra time involved, as compared with system building, I think that local authorities and their new tenants or tenant-purchasers would opt for the more traditional job.
In the special emergency programme I also intend to get away from the situation in which a great proportion of the available work was cornered by a small number of major contractors. I hope to see the work spread over many contractors, especially builders who have established a good reputation but who have been used to operating only in a particular county or general area. As the net is spread wider, it is essential also to introduce the element of genuine competition which was missing from the guaranteed order project. I am arranging that adequate competition will be introduced and will be maintained right up to the stage at which a firm contract is being decided. Finally, I want to emphasise that the new programme will supplement the normal on-going programmes of local authorities. It will not—as was the aim with the guaranteed order project—supersede the work of local authorities. I am depending on local authorities to step up their own operations as much as possible because maximum co-operation by all concerned will be essential to achieve the Government's objective of 8,000 local authority houses annually as soon as that can be secured. I will also be depending on local authorities to assist in the matter of sites in getting the special emergency programme under way quickly.
This principle of co-operation rather than imposition will apply also to the use of the National Building Agency in connection with the special programme. I intend to use the resources of the agency simply to supplement those normally available to local authorities and not to replace them. To avoid a repetition of criticism about the quality of technical supervision by the agency, arrangements will be evolved for the joint supervision of work in progress under which the local authority can be directly associated with this important aspect of operations.
I have dealt at some length with these special arrangements because I want to make it clear, especially to local authorities, that they are not going to be saddled with another "low cost" or guaranteed order project in another guise.
I cannot over-emphasise the extent to which the expansion in local authority housing output, to which the National Coalition Government is committed, is contingent upon the wholehearted support and co-operation of local authorities. Expansion of output will depend also on the availability of adequate land which is serviced or capable of ready servicing. It will call for special efforts by technical advisers and officers of local authorities and on an efficient marshalling of the resources of the construction industry.
We need the help and co-operation of local authorities also to achieve the Government's aim to give a new deal generally to the under-privileged sections of the community. The new and improved social welfare benefits provided for in the budget must be complemented by support services such as housing, home help and nursing care for the aged, the infirm and the disabled persons in our society. We should no longer tolerate the attitude that seeks to institutionalise such persons—putting the need for special care conveniently out of sight and so out of mind.
So far as housing authorities are concerned, I know that they have made a fair effort to implement recommendations made some time ago by the interDepartmental Committee on the Care of the Aged. I am not satisfied, however, that enough is being done for these our senior citizens. It should be obvious that community care and involvement, with adequate numbers of specially designed dwellings, offers a far more Christian—and incidentally, less expensive—way of caring for under-privileged classes, than shutting away in institutions elderly persons and those physically handicapped.
I have issued a special appeal to local authorities to organise a combined housing, health and social welfare approach to this problem, and, in particular, to take the lead in the provision of the necessary living accommodation without which little else can be achieved. I believe that where specially designed housing—such as sheltered housing in the case of the aged—is provided, our health and social welfare services will be ready to provide support services. In fact, it has been mentioned to me that some of the health boards might provide a warden service where provision is made by local authorities for special housing units for the elderly. I would warmly commend this approach and I have the fullest backing of the Tánaiste in seeking a development of this type of arrangement in all health board areas. The goodwill and involvement of voluntary bodies, will, on past experiences, also be assured.
Predictably, housing problems are most extensive and pressing in Dublin city and county and it is in that area that we must specially strive for a combined effort by all involved, especially the local authorities, to make a quick and lasting impact on the needs situation.
Dublin Corporation completed a review last November of the needs position in the city. In response to public advertisements, nearly 7,000 applications for rehousing were submitted to the corporation and 5,300 of these were accepted as qualifying.
In the first six months of the present financial year the corporation completed 680 houses and flats and at 30th September they had 2,418 more dwellings under construction. Further projects are in planning and the corporation are aiming at a completion figure of about 1,500 houses in 1973/74. Obviously, however, the situation calls for emergency measures over and above the normal municipal programme to ensure that the big number of families seeking proper accommodation are not obliged to wait for unreasonably long periods.
Dublin County Council are making great efforts to increase their housing output and, by utilising the National Building Agency over the past two years, have made very creditable advances in the number of dwellings built. The council are to be commended on their foresight in building up a reserve of land for a continued programme of construction for some years to come. Because of difficulties experienced in terms of technical resources, they have entrusted a substantial number of new schemes to the agency and this should lead to an early upsurge in the county programme.
Dún Laoghaire Corporation have exhausted their reserve of building land, but still have a substantial housing need outstanding. The corporation are endeavouring to get further land, but their situation is one of considerable difficulty.
The Dublin area constitutes from the point of view of housing the greatest single challenge which we have. I have been reviewing the overall housing position in that area and I am extremely concerned at the continuing extent of the urgent housing needs in the city in particular. A pressing need exists for a major expansion of the existing housing programme if the backlog of families needing accommodation is to be cleared within a reasonable time. There is no hope of achieving the desired result unless a special emergency programme is undertaken and I am satisfied that this involves closer co-ordination of the planning and services programme in the city, the county and in Dún Laoghaire Borough. The on-going programme of housing developments in the fringe areas must be supplemented by programmes designed to conserve and improve the existing housing stock in central city areas. Central city areas which have been traditionally residential in character must be made to live again and new housing developments must be provided in these areas.
Following discussions with the Dublin City and County Manager regarding the measures for greater co-ordination, and in consultation with the elected representatives in the city, county and Dún Laoghaire, an officer has been appointed with responsibilities for securing the necessary co-ordination. The officer has had delegated to him by the City and County Manager the responsibility for organising and implementing the housing construction programmes in the city, county and Dún Laoghaire including the provision of new housing in central city areas. It is his responsibility to acquire all the land required for housing and ancillary purposes in accordance with programmes adopted by the council in each area. He has the task of identifying and remedying as far as possible any deficiencies in the services, including planning, water supply, drainage, roads, which are likely to cause delay in the production of housing.
Housing problems in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford also need special attention. Mention must also be made in this context of towns such as Drogheda, Dundalk and Wexford which have substantial housing problems. Plans are under way for a combined attack on these problems by the local authorities and the National Building Agency, under the emergency supplementary programme.
It is understandable that rural housing problems should be overshadowed by the scale and intensity of the needs situation in the large urban areas, but particular problems and some acute needs do exist in rural areas.
For example, a county council may want to house a family living in an unfit or overcrowded dwelling. The father may work in the rural area and the only dwelling to meet his particular circumstances satisfactorily would be a cottage built on an individual site. Numbers of such cases arise throughout the country. I know that county councils experience difficulty in getting competent contractors to tender—even for numbers of single cottages. I would like to see special measures being adopted to overcome this particular difficulty. Where a continuing programme of rural cottages is anticipated, a council should consider establishing a direct labour unit or else negotiate with competent small builders or teams of tradesmen to build on a labour contract basis, under which the council would provide the necessary materials and pay for the labour input on a regular fortnightly or monthly basis. This labour contract arrangement has proved highly successful in some areas and could usefully be adopted elsewhere.
And since I have referred to rural cottages, there is another matter which merits mention. Where cottages have been vested, it is common for the purchasing tenant to seek the consent of the county council to assign part of the cottage plot to a son or other relative to enable him to build a house there. Some councils adopt a restrictive attitude towards such requests. In view of the difficulty in obtaining housing sites, I would be glad to see councils dealing as liberally as possible with applications to subdivide plots, especially where this is intended to facilitate a relative of the vested owner in housing himself.
There is one final point which I want to make about local authority housing operations. Deputies will remember that this is a point on which I expressed strong criticism while in Opposition—that is the undue degree of central control which has eroded the concept of local democracy, and has proved so frustrating to members and officials of local authorities. I have in mind the shuttling of plans and tenders for housing schemes between local authorities and the Department. I want to see an end to this as far as possible. I have already accelerated the pace of devolution to local authorities of responsibility for the planning and execution of housing schemes by transferring to local authorities the making of decisions in regard to schemes of up to 60 dwellings. When I see how this works out in practice, I intend to consider what further measures in devolution should be taken.
I appreciate that the financing of forward land acquisition has been a major problem for local authorities. Heretofore, the authorities have been encouraged to carry bridging finance for land acquisition on overdraft, but access to long-term moneys from the Local Loans Fund has been granted to a few authorities where special circumstances applied. Of its nature, land acquisition should require only bridging finance and I intend asking all local authorities to carry the cost of land acquisition on short-term loans or overdraft, pending the charging of the appropriate amounts to the loans for particular housing or other schemes. I am prepared to allow local authorities to include in the capital cost of schemes for loan purposes the full cost of servicing such temporary borrowing.
No housing programme can make progress unless land can be acquired. In this connection I intend to review the operation of the compulsory purchase order system with a view to removing some of the unreasonable obstacles which obstruct the purchase of land by local authorities for house building.
The provision of houses is our primary task. But we also have a commitment in regard to the management of houses provided by local authorities. The National Coalition Government undertook to remove the unjust aspects of differential rents and to introduce a fair national system of tenant-purchase. The reduction of the rent burden on local authority tenants will inevitably demand increased subsidy. This highlights the importance of the commitment by the Government to assume responsibility on a phased basis for the full cost of subsidising local authority housing. The first step in that direction was taken last March when the Government announced that the rate to be levied by each local authority in the current financial year for housing purposes could be reduced by 25 per cent, as compared with the rate levied for the purpose last year. The effect of this move is reflected in the increase in the provision under subhead E.1. of the Department's Vote, from £5.827 million last year to a total of £11.401 million in 1973-74.
Deputies will be aware that, with the approval of the Government, I have introduced a new national renting system for local authority dwellings. The new scheme applies uniformly throughout the country from 1st July, 1973, to all tenants on differential renting scales and supercedes all existing income-related rent schemes. The principal features of the new scheme are—overtime, shift allowances and bonus payments will no longer be taken into account for rent purposes; income tax on basic pay and social welfare contributions will be allowable as a deduction in assessing rent; maximum rents will be frozen for a period of three years; tenants on a basic income of £25 a week or less will be assessed on a graded scale to ensure that their rent payments will be reduced to a reasonable level; a member of the household who has been paying rent as "principal earner" for at least one year before the tenant dies and who succeeds to the tenancy may do so without change in the differential rent scheme applicable to the dwelling.
The scheme is particularly beneficial to tenants on low incomes and under the terms of the scheme many pensioners and others in receipt of social welfare payments will be required to pay only a nominal amount in respect of rent and rates. Tenants who work long hours and whose incomes contain a large overtime element also benefit substantially under the new scheme. The rent reductions do not reflect the effects of the Government's decision to transfer to the Exchequer from the rates a substantial part of the cost of health services and housing subsidies to which I have already referred and which generally reduced the rates element in tenants' weekly outgoings. The new rent scheme meets the main demands of the tenants and has been widely welcomed. I have also, with the approval of the Government, introduced new terms of sale for existing local authority houses.
Up to now the sales terms that applied required local authorities to base the selling price of houses on their market or replacement value less a discount of 3 per cent for each year of continuous tenancy subject to a maximum of 30 per cent in built-up areas and 45 per cent in other areas.
The principal features of the new sale terms are—house prices will be based on their original cost to the local authority, converted to current money values using a table prepared by the Central Statistics Office; the gross price in current money terms may be reduced by a tenancy discount of 3 per cent a year subject to a maximum of 30 per cent in built-up areas and 45 per cent in other areas; an amount equivalent to the maximum State and supplementary grants —£650—will be deducted from the net price; an amount equivalent to the capitalised value of rates remission calculated in relation to the valuation of a standard local authority house— £250—will also be allowed off the net price; where a member of the household who was bona fide residing with the tenant for at least 12 months prior to the tenant's death and succeeds to the tenancy, he may be allowed tenancy discount for the period of tenancy of the previous tenant.
As the new sale terms apply to some very old houses it was necessary to fix a minimum net sale price of £100 per house.
In the case of newly built dwellings, a tenant on being allocated a house can be given the option of either renting or purchasing it at cost price, less State and local authority supplementary grants, where appropriate, and a rate remission. Nearly all local authorities operate this option system.
The new sale terms meet in full the commitment of the National Coalition Government, announced in their 14-point plan, to introduce a fair system of tenant purchase which would take full account of a sitting tenant's rights and give credit for them in the calculation of the sale price. In devising the new terms of sale I had due regard to the views put forward by all interested parties.
I am confident that the new terms of sale, which provide tenants with a better opportunity of owning the houses in which they live, will encourage the spread of home ownership. Apart from giving a family a stake in the community, experience has shown it encourages high standards of maintenance and a general concern for the environmental standards of the neighbourhood.
Local authorities have been giving valuable assistance to the private housing sector. Their contribution towards activity in that sector was given a stimulus by the changes which I introduced in recent months in the conditions subject to which local authority house purchase loans and supplementary grants are made. The maximum loan which may be advanced was increased from £3,800 in the county boroughs, Dublin county and the boroughs of Dún Laoghaire and Galway and £3,400 in other areas to £4,500 in all areas. The qualifying yearly income limit for the loans was also increased from £1,800 to £2,350. The income limit is being kept under review in the light of changes in wages and salaries of the categories of persons covered by this scheme. No income limit applies in the case of a tenant of a local authority dwelling who surrenders his tenancy on getting a loan.
The yearly income for supplementary grants was increased from £1,500 to £1,950. An allowance of £100 for each dependant up to a limit of £400 applies, giving an effective income limit of £2,350 a year.
The provision for housing in the 1973-74 public capital programme will total £68.1 million as compared with an expenditure of £46.16 million in 1972-73. The provision includes £25.49 million for local authority loans and supplementary grants. This contrasts sharply with a total of only £12.21 million provided for the loans and grants scheme last year—a figure which had increased by only £520,000 over the preceding three years, evidence, if such were needed, of the manner in which these schemes had been allowed to get out of touch with the needs of the deserving classes they were intended to assist.
Building societies have been the subject of considerable publicity in recent months, much of it, unfortunately, ill-informed. I feel it appropriate, therefore, to set out some facts about the societies and about my policy in relation to them. The first point that should be made is that the societies have been playing a vital role in the development of the housing programme. Last year they advanced about £43 million. This was nearly five times the value of their loan advances five years ago.
The building societies have been the means of financing the growth in the housing programme over the last five years and their expansion has been such that the housing programme has become heavily dependent on them. This is something that no Minister with responsibility for housing, no Government, and, indeed, no public representative concerned about housing progress can afford to ignore. This virtual dominance of the societies in private housing and the extent to which the financing of private housing has moved away from the direct control of the Government are factors that must be taken into account in the formulation of housing policies.
In particular, it was clear to me from an early stage that we needed to develop our relationship with the societies so that they could be kept in closer touch with the Government's housing objectives which, I know, they desire. We also need to develop, in conjunction with the societies, better methods of forecasting trends in their resources and of assessing the implications of these trends for public expenditure on house purchase loans and for housing output generally. It is important to aim at continuity in the availability of mortgage facilities so that builders and manufacturers can plan ahead with reasonable confidence of growth in the total supply of mortgage finance at a rate that can be sustained without putting undue pressure on house prices or on the availability of resources.
Shortly after assuming office the Government took action to control the rate of interest on building society loans. Briefly, what we did was to stipulate that the special taxation arrangements which are operated by the Revenue Commissioners in relation to the societies would henceforth be available only to societies which charged a rate of interest on house purchase loans that did not exceed a rate specified by me. The rate which I specified for this purpose was 10 per cent. I am glad to say that all the societies co-operated in and supported the action which I took. This action represented a first step in the positive use of the special taxation arrangements applicable to the societies as a means of promoting housing policy.
This has been a unique year in financial markets and the repercussions of the world-wide increases in interest rates inevitably affected the societies. By their very nature, the societies must remain competitive with other savings media if they are to continue to discharge their vital role in providing housing finance. This has meant that in the current year they have had to raise the interest rate paid by them on shares from 5½ per cent to 6 per cent in March, from 6 per cent to 7 per cent in May, and again from 7 per cent to 8 per cent in September. These rises in interest rates could not be absorbed by the societies since effectively they do not have sources of income available to them other than the mortgage loan repayments and interest on trustee investments.
Recognising the societies' dilemma and conscious of their importance to the housing programme, the Government took special action in May last to help them to stay competitive and thus attract an adequate flow of funds, while at the same time maintaining the mortgage rate at 10 per cent. For this purpose, the Government introduced a special subvention which enabled the societies to offer an additional 1 per cent on shares without creating a need for a house purchase loan rate above 10 per cent. The subvention helped to boost the flow of funds to the societies but, regrettably, further increases in the general level of interest rates in Ireland and elsewhere, which occurred in August and September, tended once again to make them uncompetitive in the attraction of savings. The Government considered the new situation and concluded that there was no option open to the societies but to increase their investment rate still further, to 8 per cent. Inevitably, this further increase in the societies' outgoings had to be reflected in a new mortgage rate.
Nobody regrets more than I the need for the 11¼ per cent rate which in most cases will come into force on 1st January next. I would, however, ask Deputies to bear in mind that the issue involved is really one of priorities. I know that there are borrowers who will find it difficult to meet their higher outgoings but I also know that a big proportion of them are persons who have lived in their houses for a number of years and whose outgoings are now very low in relation to their incomes and to the value of their houses. Should we further subsidise these persons—who are already housed; who have benefited and are still benefiting from the special subvention introduced in May last; and who in many cases benefited in the past from the whole range of State and local authority housing aids—at the expense of those who have not yet been able to become home owners? This really is the issue and I do not think that any one should try to sidestep it.
I can understand the frustration of those who are considering action to withhold mortgage repayments from the societies, but I cannot say strongly enough how ill-advised I consider this action to be. In the ultimate, it can only damage their own interests, which are different from the interests of ordinary tenants and involve the equity stake which they have in their houses, their right to sell, and—if repayments are withheld—an increase in their total mortgage liability and a deferral of the date on which they can become full owners of their houses. I am hopeful that interest rates will come down in time and, if they do, I have no doubt that the societies will bring down their rates as quickly as their circumstances allow.
There has been some criticism of the Government's decision to ask the societies not to approve any loans for the time being for previously occupied houses or any loans in excess of £7,500. It was made clear all along, however, that these were temporary measures designed to ensure that in the short-term as high a proportion as possible of loan approvals issued by the societies would relate to new houses of a fairly modest standard. I am glad to say that the inflow of funds to the societies and the scale of loan approvals have improved significantly in recent months and the Government has now decided that the restrictions on loans for previously occupied houses can be lifted as from the 1st December, 1973. I will expect the societies to advance at least two-thirds of all loans in respect of new houses and to retain the £7,500 ceiling on all loans until further notice.
I would like to refer briefly in passing to the confusion which has existed about the availability of loans from local authorities for previously-occupied houses. These loans are available to persons of limited means who need rehousing and who are buying cheaper houses. This is not a new policy and is, in fact, fully in accordance with the advice given to local authorities in June last to the effect that loans for previously occupied houses would be given to persons who were unable to obtain loans from commercial agencies and whose circumstances otherwise necessitated their being rehoused by the local authority.
It is essential that building societies should be enabled to operate within a legal framework which meets present-day requirements and is appropriate to the value and volume of their activities. I am, therefore, giving special attention to the need for new legislation to replace the existing Building Societies Acts—which have remained virtually unchanged since the 19th century—and I hope to have definite proposals in this regard ready fairly soon.
I mentioned earlier that I intend to move a supplementary estimate of £1,000,000 to meet the special interest subsidy to the societies. This will meet claims in respect of the period from 23rd May last, when the subvention was introduced to 31st December, 1973. It is unlikely that audited claims relating to the period from 1st January, 1974, will have to be met during the current financial year.
Life assurance companies have been a source of house purchase loans for many years, but their activities in this respect have shown no growth at all in the last few years and are, if anything, tending to decline. In 1972-73, for example they approved a total of only 1,534 loans, compared with 2,286 in 1968-69. I appreciate that house purchase loans are incidental to the main business of the companies, but some increase in real terms could reasonably have been expected having regard to the growth in the companies' operations generally and the agreements which the non-Irish companies made with the Minister for Industry and Commerce about the investment in this country of a growing proportion of their premium income arising here.
I have asked each company to review urgently its policy and plans in relation to housing investment and to give favourable consideration in the review to expanding the level of such investment.
While we are promoting and assisting the provision of new housing, it is my aim at the same time to ensure that in so far as grant-aided new houses in schemes of four or more houses which are provided for sale are concerned, the sale price proposed represents reasonable value. All such houses must first receive a certificate of reasonable value before an applicacation for a grant will be processed.
There has been considerable activity under this scheme. Of the 8,048 houses for which certificates were sought up to 31st October last, 4,458 had been approved and 1,135 or approx. 14 per cent were refused certificates. Of the number refused, appeals were received in respect of 766 houses.
When the scheme was introduced an undertaking was given that first applications, as distinct from appeals, would generally be processed within 21 days of the receipt of a properly documented application. Since the scheme started the average time taken to process first applications has been 20 days.
The scheme necessarily is a flexible one because houses differ widely in size, type and location. It is based on "reasonable value", taking into consideration the various factors affecting costs. Where a certificate is refused, the builder is told that he has the right to appeal against the refusal. The scheme is kept under continuous review in my Department and regard is had all the time to increases in the cost of materials and labour.
A development in housing which I intend to encourage and assist is the combining of groups of people seeking to provide their own houses on a co-operative basis.
Some co-operative projects have got under way already. Experience shows that the development of co-operative housing within an area depends to a large extent on the support it gets from the local authority. I will be concerned to see that this support is forthcoming in any area where there is a potential for co-operative housing and I intend to examine the scope for new measures which would promote the further development of this desirable form of housing activity.
I am aware that in some areas voluntary housing organisations have been doing excellent work to supplement the housing activities of local authorities and I want to commend them for their efforts. There is scope for non-profit organisations to play a part especially in the provision of accommodation for elderly persons and other categories of persons who may not merit the highest priority from local authorities. Local authorities can assist voluntary housing groups by way of loan, loan guarantee or by periodic contributions and a special State subsidy is available to approved organisations which, by purchasing and converting existing houses, provide accommodation on a non-profit basis for small families. I would like to see fuller use being made of these powers and subsidies in the future.
In particular I would like local authorities to assist voluntary housing organisations by making serviced sites available to them.
The maintenance and improvement of the existing housing stock is of paramount importance. While the provision of new housing tends to feature more prominently, it would be wasteful if adequate provision were not made to ensure that the new building was backed up by a proper scheme of assistance towards maintenance, repair, and improvement of existing houses. I intend to have a comprehensive review made of the present scheme of reconstruction grants on the basis of the results of the Housing Stock Survey which has been carried out throughout the country and the findings of which are now being collated and analysed by An Foras Forbartha.
There is one important point which I must make before moving from the subject of private housing operations. I am not satisfied with the length of time which it takes to process an application for a housing grant and I am having the procedures reviewed thoroughly. My aim is to ensure that all grants are paid within a reasonable time and the organisation of my Department must be geared to achieve this objective. As one possible means of improving the quality of service to the public I am considering the devolution of private housing grants to local authorities. A pilot exercise in the devolution of new house grants commenced in County Meath in May last and a similar pilot exercise in relation to reconstruction and individual water and sewerage grants commenced in August in Longford and Westmeath. Further devolution of these grants will depend on the results of those pilot exercises.
As part of the Department's responsibilities in relation to the building industry it carries out each year, in conjunction with trade unions and employers' organisations, a review of progress and prospects in the industry. The last review estimated that the total output of building and construction work in 1972-73 amounted to £288 million, of which housing accounted for £112 million or 39 per cent. In real terms, the increase in output over 1971-72 was just short of 6 per cent.
My Department takes steps to promote a high level of efficiency in the industry. These include the conversion to the metric system of measurement, modular co-ordination and the rationalisation of building components, the preparation of new building regulations and the provision of technical assistance grants. The task of promoting and supervising the changes to metric measurement was entrusted to An Foras Forbartha and steady progress has been made. So far, An Foras has issued 20 metric bulletins and two metric guides.
Certain initiatives taken by the EEC with the general aim of promoting the concept of a common market in construction have implications for the Department. Apart from the directives on public works contracts, the commission has set up special working parties to consider other means of developing community-wide competition for building contracts. The Department participates in these working parties and keeps the principal organisations connected with the industry in touch with developments.
An Foras, in conjunction with my Department, is also developing a modular programme for the standardisation of dimensions in building. In October, 1972, modular guidelines were issued setting out the general principles and guidelines for the implementation of modular co-ordination. The programme is being undertaken in close consultation with manufacturers and designers with the object of getting agreement on suitable modular dimensions for a wide range of building components.
Work is proceeding on the final draft of the building regulations to be made under section 86 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, and I hope that the draft will be completed before the end of this year.
Under the technical assistance scheme, grants are made towards the cost of attendance at training courses by managerial, supervisory or technical personnel engaged in the building industry as well as by officials and representatives of trade unions and employers' unions. Grants are made also for the engagement of consultants by builders and contractors to improve efficiency. A sum of £30,000 is provided in the estimate for the scheme.
The public water and sewerage programmes have been seriously underfinanced for a number of years with the result that in very many areas, but especially in and around the larger urban centres, the stock of serviced land became critically inadequate to meet the demands for such land arising from housing, industrial and other development. The efforts made to remedy the position were on a paltry scale compared with the need and were not at all of the dimensions which would ensure that an adequate supply of serviced land would be made available quickly. Lack of a pool of serviced sites has been a factor in the continued extraordinary rise in the cost of housing sites. I hope that the increase in this year's capital allocation, which at £12.95 million is £4.72 million above the amount, £8.23 million, actually expended on the programmes in 1972-73 will be sufficient to encourage the speedy build-up of the programmes to the stage where they will be running at a satisfactory rate so that the backlog which has been allowed to build up will be cleared off in the shortest possible time.
I can understand that failure to provide sufficient capital in the past to finance the dynamic water and sewerage programmes that the circumstances demanded may have resulted in those associated with the programme, the local authorities and their consultants and the contractors engaged in the civil engineering industry feeling that the programmes were regarded as of secondary importance only. This feeling may have bred in all these people a certain mistrust of the future prospects for the programmes. I want to assure everyone concerned that I am fully alive to the fact that these programmes are a most important part of the foundation on which this country's future development must be built and I will see that they get an equitable share of available funds in the future.
The programmes can also, I consider, be accelerated by getting rid of a number of existing time consuming procedures under which for instance, proposals for water and sewerage schemes, either big or small, have to be submitted to my Department at a number of stages during planning. I am having examined to what extent these procedures can be streamlined so as to devolve on the local authorities the maximum responsibility in these matters. I know that local authorities are eager to play a more positive and independent role in these matters. I would like, however, to take this opportunity to impress on them the importance of one major aspect of these programmes and that is the necessity for forward planning. The planning and execution of a major water or sewerage scheme takes a long time even if everything goes without a hitch, and experience has shown that major schemes are all too prone to run into difficulties. The obvious solution is to look well ahead so as to ensure that services will always be ample to cater for foreseeable needs.
The demand for water and sewerage services to provide for the immediate needs of built up areas to support new housing developments and the regional industrial development programmes of the Industrial Development Authority is very substantial. It is likely that in the foreseeable future practically all the capital that can be made available for the water and sewerage programmes will be fully absorbed in the provision of services for such purposes, in ensuring that services in built up areas are adequate from the point of view of public health and in dealing with serious pollution problems.
It is evident, therefore, that the provision of sanitary services in rural areas must continue to depend as it has in recent years primarily on the initiative of the local people to provide these services with the aid of the grants that are available from the State and the local authorities for group water supply schemes. There is no doubt that considerable progress has been made in the last ten years in providing sanitary services in rural areas but the preliminary results of the 1971 Census show that far too many rural dwellings are still without these essential amenities. Some areas have made considerably greater progress than others but on average it appears that some 40 per cent of houses in rural areas are still without piped water while the corresponding percentage of dwellings without flush toilets is about 45 per cent. This is a position that we cannot lightly accept and I am considering how the work can be speeded up through the group water supply schemes. The proportion of rural houses being served by these schemes is increasing steadily each year. This is a welcome development because the quality and quantity of the water provided under group development is comparable with what could be expected from a public scheme whereas individual house supplies are sometimes substandard.
Up to the present my Department has played the major role in the promotion of group schemes while the local authority has played a somewhat secondary one. I think that these roles could be reversed with benefit to the programme, since local authorities are that stage nearer to groups and should be able to give them more immediate assistance and advice than is possible from my Department. Again local authorities should know the exact potential of the various parts of their areas for development by group schemes and should be able to give positive encouragement to the local community to undertake schemes. And finally, I believe in the principle that work of local value is best done locally. Accordingly, in conjunction with the study of devolution on sanitary services schemes, I am having considered how most effectively work on group schemes can be devolved on local authorities. Arrangements are being made for the devolution of group scheme work on a pilot basis to a few county councils, and this will give practical experience of what is involved in a general extension of the devolution process.
It is a measure of the growing importance of local authority activities, and especially the vital part they play in the development of the country, that the success or otherwise of local authority land acquisition programmes is of grave concern to so many interests, for example, the construction industry, the very many people who are in the queue for houses, industrialists, local communities seeking better development of their areas.
A lot of land is acquired by local authorities by agreement but very often the critical land must be acquired compulsorily and so the system of compulsory land acquisition is a key area of local authority operations. It is only inevitable that the system should be facing extraordinary strains at the moment. Its origin goes back a long time, but it was reviewed and improved substantially as recently as 1966. This review had to take account of the protection afforded to property rights in the Constitution and there are various safeguards, some of them time-consuming, built into the system accordingly. However, the pressures on land have increased enormously since 1966. As land has become more valuable, its acquisition by a public authority is more likely to be challenged up to the limit. The preliminary process by the local authority and the public inquiry both tend to become more complex, and the possibility of a case going to court becomes greater. It follows that the departmental examination of orders becomes more exacting and time-consuming also.
At 31st October, 1973 there were 93 compulsory purchase orders before my Department, four of them very important in that they involved approximately 2,300 acres sought for housing and ancillary purposes in the Dublin and Cork areas. Furthermore, eight orders already confirmed, involving about 1,000 acres, are the subject of court proceedings and action under them by the local authorities is therefore suspended. At 31st October also six applications were with my Department for provisional orders for the taking of water supplies.
The orders before my Department are being processed as expeditiously as possible, but the problems I have mentioned and the figures I have given necessitate a full review of the system of compulsory acquisition.
While the main purpose of the Kenny Committee was to look at building land prices, its terms of reference necessarily covered the system of land acquisition. The report is at present being considered and I hope that an announcement on it will be made in the near future.
All planning authorities have now made development plans for their areas under the Planning and Development Act and the position has been reached where many of them have also completed the first review and made the variations and amendments which they have found necessary in the light of experience and changing circumstances. The procedure is similar to that for making a plan. The proposed variations must be put on public display for at least three months and all objections and representations must be considered before the plan is varied. My Department have given advice and assistance but the function of making or amending a plan is a reserved function of planning authorities and my approval is not required for their proposals.
I am anxious that planning authorities should not accept the statutory obligation to review their plans as mere routine. Development plans are important and it is desirable that they should be seen not simply as a basis for restrictive control of development, but rather for the positive development of their area. Of course, some restrictions are necessary. We cannot allow the beauty of the countryside to be despoiled, our rivers to be polluted, or the efficiency and safety of our road network to be reduced. Neither would we wish to allow development to be carried out in such a manner that health and social problems are likely to result.
However, much of the pressure for haphazard or ill-sited development seems to have arisen from the scarcity of serviced land. I am hopeful that the increasing sanitary services programme will ease this problem considerably and, where it still exists, I expect planning authorities to exercise a suitable degree of flexibility in development control, on which I have some more to say later.
Few people would quarrel with the general content of development plans but I would like planning authorities to consider what can be done to make such plans more meaningful. It may also be possible to improve them by variations which will make them less restrictive without any significant departure from fundamental planning objectives. I realise the difficulty in this regard arising from the shortage of skilled personnel. My Department has been making efforts to overcome this problem. There are some indications that the position is improving and good prospects that it will continue to do so.
Just as it is vital that the local authorities should play the part they do in the planning and development of their own areas, so it is vital that they should play the leading part in the development of their region. It is essential that they should form the core of the regional development organisations, as they do, and that these organisations should grow from the local authorities.
The present regional development organisations have been in existence for some time now in each of the nine planning regions. In addition to having representatives of the local authorities as their main constituent, they also have representatives of Government Departments and other bodies responsible for particular facets of development such as the Industrial Development Authority, regional tourism organisations, local harbour commissioners et cetera. While their chief formal function relates to the co-ordination of development plans, in practice they provide the means for joint study of and a co-ordinated approach to the development problems affecting the region.
During the past year they continued their activities in this regard. Some work was done on planning co-ordination problems but the main activity in most regions was the carrying out of a survey of infrastructural needs. In addition, special surveys, such as the survey of water resources in the Donegal and North-East regions, were instigated. Much of this work was done at technical committee or sub-committee level, by officials of the constituent bodies, and considered at the board meetings which are usually held quarterly. It is hoped that the information collected and the priorities agreed will provide the basis for evolution of phased regional development programmes.
I am aware that regional development organisations are anxious to align their efforts towards maximising the benefit of any regional aids from the EEC and at the appropriate time they will be brought fully into the exercise. However, the position at present is that the key decisions on EEC regional policy have yet to be taken by the Community, in particular the nature and size of the proposed regional development fund. When the structure of this fund has been established, the precise nature of local and regional involvement here will emerge. In the meantime, every opportunity is taken to avail of any European financial sources that can usefully assist regional development here, for example, the European Investment Bank and the guidance section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund.
I might mention in particular that at the end of June, 1973, my Department submitted to the EEC Commission through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 122 applications for financial aid for rural water supply schemes from the guidance section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. Thirty-three of the applications were made on behalf of local authorities in respect of public water supply schemes and 89 were made in respect of group water supply schemes. A decision on the applications is not expected for some time.
As Deputies are aware, the first reading has been given to a Bill to deal with planning control and in particular to assign the work of dealing with planning appeals to an independent tribunal. It will also deal with enforcement. The finalisation of the draft of the Bill raised a number of difficulties, but I hope to have the text circulated very shortly now.
In the meantime I have the responsibility to deal with appeals. At my request, the Government made an order on 29th March delegating most of the appeal functions to my Parliamentary Secretary. While I still have concurrent power, most appeals are decided by my Parliamentary Secretary.
It is a heavy task. The total number of appeals received in 1972-73 was the highest ever, 3,233 in all or 443 more than the previous year. The number is continuing to grow. For example, 2,509 were received in the first seven months of the current financial year compared with 1,848 in the corresponding period last year. I may add that the figures for appeals decided in these periods were 1,997 this year compared with 1,793 last year.
I have considered various ways in which the increase in the volume of appeals can be checked, and in particular to what extent it can be checked at base by securing a greater rapport between would-be developers and the planning authorities particularly in relation to small developments such as those for single rural houses. I have, therefore, written to the planning authorities on the subject and indicated my view that they should approach applications for planning permission in a far less restrictive way and should grant permission unless there are serious objections or important planning grounds such as traffic safety, public health or amenity.
In particular, I believe that proposals for residential development in rural areas—one house or a small group—should be granted if at all possible. I am of opinion that this would have other advantages, for example, the encouragement of persons to provide their own houses and, therefore, assist the housing drive, the increase in the number of rural sites available and, therefore, a reduction in the price of such sites.
It is my intention that planning appeals will be dealt with on the basis of the above principles. I have arranged to discuss with the chief local officials concerned—county and city managers and engineers and the chief planning assistants—the implementation of the above principles in their operation of planning control.
As development proceeds in industry, housing, urban development generally and agriculture, the danger arises of an undue impact on the environment and the possibility that uncontrolled development could, while appearing to give better material standards of living, in fact reduce the quality of life. However, I believe that, once development is reasonably and properly controlled, we can have the benefits of economic growth and a good environment.
Our planning system enables the local authority, concerned with the development and the preservation of their area and responsible to the people, to exercise a control which takes account, in the case of each proposed development, of all aspects of it, including those affecting the environment. In some respects that system can be improved and this I propose to do in the Planning Bill.
In regard to water pollution I may mention the Report on Water Pollution by an interdepartmental committee, published without commitment by the previous Government. It surveys the present position and makes recommendations, including recommendations for new legislation and improved organisational and administrative arrangements to deal specifically with water pollution. The comments on the report which I have received from interested bodies are being studied in my Department. I want to see that there is more effective control of water pollution as soon as possible and I am glad to say that work is well advanced on the preparation of proposals in the matter for consideration by the Government.
Legislation will not in itself cure pollution. I recently held a conference of voluntary bodies concerned with the water pollution problem, which was also attended by city and county managers and representatives of interested State and semi-state bodies. Among the topics discussed was the question of greater involvement of voluntary bodies in support of measures to deal with water pollution. I will take due account of the views expressed at the conference in my further examination of the problem.
Meanwhile work goes on to combat pollution as part of the expanded activities of the local authorities in relation to sanitary and environmental services, not merely the provision and improvement of sewerage schemes, but also action to abate and prevent water pollution from industrial and agricultural activities and the undertaking of surveys of critical areas and problems, often through the agency of An Foras Forbartha.
With regard to local authority sewerage schemes I have asked local authorities to take all possible steps to eliminate any serious pollution arising from their sewerage systems as soon as possible and to initiate without delay the planning of remedial works, where necessary.
Air pollution is being kept under surveillance. Measurements of smoke and sulphur dioxide taken in Dublin and other centres during the past ten years or so show a steady decline in the level of smoke, but some rise in that of sulphur dioxide. Generally the monitoring arrangements are being improved. The regulations controlling heavier smoke emissions by industrial and other sources, which are enforced by local authorities, seem to be working well but I hope to see a further steady improvement in the position.
Inspection of works which are registered under the Alkali etc. Works Regulations Act, 1906—mainly chemical works—continued during the year. These inspections will be stepped up to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act, designed to minimise emission of certain noxious or offensive gases, and to ensure that all registrable works are, in fact, registered. I am also looking into the question of extending this kind of control to processes not at present covered by the Act but which may cause nuisance or danger to health.
A review of the dumping and waste disposal service operated by local authorities is being undertaken by my Department. Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to provide facilities for dumping and to operate these facilities in a way which prevents the dump from itself becoming a nuisance. I think there is need to review standards for this service and in some respects to up-date the existing practices.
It has to be recognised, of course, that the task of coping with the growing volumes of waste is becoming ever more complex and costly and that there are serious problems in finding and operating suitable dumping sites. I am hoping that from the review which I have mentioned general advice and guidelines will emerge which will be of considerable assistance to local authorities in this area in the future. If local authorities are to give a lead, as they should, to the private sector as regards pride in town and countryside and avoidance of litter, they must observe the highest possible standards in their own services and particularly in those services which have to do directly with the collection and disposal of refuse.
I am particularly concerned about the litter problem and I would like to see greater activity by local authorities in propaganda and in enforcement action to combat this growing disfigurement of our cities, towns and resort areas. Accordingly, I recently wrote to local authorities setting out the various powers which they have to take action to deal with litter and various nuisances, and urging them to make full use of those powers to bring about higher standards in their areas.
A new problem, but a real one, is the danger of coastal pollution from oil. Our geographical location, the established tanker routes and the revolution in undersea exploration all mean that our coasts are now exposed to a constant threat of serious pollution damage from the sea. Arrangements must be made to deal with any incidents of that kind that may occur. I am glad to report that progress is being made. A liaison committee representing the Department of Local Government, Transport and Power, Agriculture and Fisheries, Defence, and the City and County Managers Association, and the Institution of Engineers of Ireland has been set up to assist in providing guidance and advice for local bodies concerned with clearance of oil pollution, and to ensure co-ordination and the best use of the resources that are available for the purpose.
With the assistance of that committee a considerable amount of work has been done to date. Maritime local authorities have been asked to prepare contingency plans and have been given advice as to how to proceed; the Minister for Transport and Power has asked harbour authorities to co-operate fully. The preparation of these contingency plans is now well advanced and initial stocks of dispersant material have been, or are being, laid in. A conference for local authority oil pollution officers was held on 12-13 June, where they received specialist advice from people with practical experience of oil clearance and with expert knowledge of the techniques. When opening it I announced the very generous terms on which the State is assisting the local authorities. The local authorities will be asked to meet only 50 per cent of the cost of their work, up to a limit of a rate of 2½p in the £. The rest will be met by the State.
The subject of oil pollution naturally leads one to consider the international aspects of pollution, which is no respecter of boundaries. My Department seeks to keep fully in touch with international developments and, for instance, is at present taking part with 13 other countries in the preparation of an international convention for the control of marine pollution from land-based sources in the north-east Atlantic area.
We are concerned in particular with developments in the EEC where an environmental programme was adopted at the Council of Ministers meeting on 19th July which I attended. This programme provides for action, which in some cases will fall to be taken at the national level and in others at Community level, aimed at the reduction and control of pollution and nuisance as well as action under a variety of headings to improve the living surroundings. It also provides for joint action by the member states in international organisations dealing with environmental matters. It is likely that much of the early work to be undertaken under the programme will be aimed at improving information about the nature and effects of various pollutants of water and air in order to provide a better basis for control and, where necessary, for a uniform approach to control measures. One of the underlying principles recognised in the programme is that action by one State should not result in environmental deterioration in another. It is important to have such rules of good neighbourliness, in the environmental sense, formally adopted at the Community level.
I believe that the programme, and the work to be undertaken under it, will be a considerable help to this country, as to the other members, in dealing with their own pollution and environmental problems as well as in enabling those problems which call for common action to be tackled. It will also be necessary to ensure that the special features of environmental conditions in this country, and our development needs, are borne in mind in the further evolution of Community measures. To this end continued close involvement in EEC environmental work is envisaged. My Department are represented on the working party concerned in Brussels.
I have been speaking of the more protective side of the environmental activities of my Department but we are also very much concerned with the improvement and development of facilities for recreation, valuable for our own people and also an addition to our tourist attractions. A number of schemes administered by my Department are of value in this regard.
I may mention the swimming pool programme. A considerable number of pools have been provided by or with the assistance of local authorities and there are others in the pipeline. I am having the whole programme surveyed, to see what is involved, not merely in the provision of new pools but in their operation and the operation of those there already.
Here I may mention the excellent work of the Irish Water Safety Association, which is assisted by a grant from my Department's Vote. The association's main programme provides for swimming and life-saving instruction to the public. They are also carrying out, in consultation with sanitary authorities, a complete survey of bathing places with a view to establishing the conditions which exist at beaches, lakes, et cetera, so as to enable any necessary precautions such as erection of warning notices or other safety measures to be undertaken by local authorities. Another important activity of the association is the training of life guards for local authority work.
The amenity grants scheme is another source from which my Department assist local authorities in the provision of desirable amenities in their areas. Last year a substantial sum was spent on this service because during the year, in addition to the original £300,000 allocated to the scheme, a further £165,000 was allocated, but unfortunately the Minister for Finance at the time, Deputy Colley, made it a condition of his sanction to this arrangement that there would have to be a corresponding reduction in the budgetary provision for the scheme for 1973-74. Taking account of this £165,000 and of the net provision of £240,000 in this year's Estimate, I am therefore providing more than £400,000, that is, more than a third more than last year's original estimate. I would have liked to have developed the scheme much further this year, but it was necessary to push every available £ into the expanded housing and sanitary services programmes, which also have a high environmental content. Indeed, there may, in fact, be no net reduction in amenity spending because local authorities in their housing activities are being encouraged to provide the very kind of amenity dealt with to a large extent under the amenity grants scheme.
Another of the more positive sides of environmental work in which local government are deeply involved is the conservation of our national heritage.
A number of Government Departments and other public bodies are necessarily concerned with this, but local government have a very special role to play. In the operation of the planning system, the local authorities can identify and protect the various heritage items in their area, acting in appropriate cases in support of bodies that may be specially concerned with specific aspects of the environment. The conservation and amenity advisory service operated by An Foras Forbartha is designed to provide a specialist service to local authorities in regard to this aspect of their planning functions, and I understand it is now availed of, successfully, by practically all county councils.
I may mention also that very recently our National Committee for the European Architectural Heritage Year was formally launched. I have the honour to be chairman of the committee. I wish to take the opportunity of expressing my appreciation of the spirit of public service permeating the very many authorities and bodies which are prepared to play an active and constructive part in the work necessary at national, regional and local levels to make the year a success in Ireland. I would consider that the most rewarding result our committee can achieve is to develop throughout the community, as widely and as deeply as possible, a consciousness of our heritage and a growing interest in it. Our architectural heritage may not be on the massive scale found elsewhere, but it is impressive and it is uniquely our own. We should ensure that all our people are enriched by it.
The fire service is expected to be there when it is needed. Apart from that, it is not a service that people think about a great deal. Its task is to protect lives and property from fire. Traditionally, this has been thought of in terms of fire-fighting and fire rescues but there is a growing emphasis now on the importance of fire prevention. This is a logical and very welcome development because where fire is concerned prevention is always better than cure.
There has been a significant increase in the material losses caused by fire each year. The figure for the past year is £7 million approximately. From the community point of view it has to be remembered that to make good this loss means diverting to restoration works a very substantial sum of money each year which could be put to alternative productive or socially beneficial uses. Such a wastage of national resources must be avoided to the maximum extent possible. I have no doubt that fire losses would be much greater but for the magnificent work which is being done by our fire brigades who are performing such valuable work for the community.
The local authority fire service operates under the Fire Brigades Act, 1940, but their operations are affected by a number of other statutory provisions. This position, the growing emphasis on fire prevention and changes in many technical and operational procedures including the introduction of new materials, all add up to a need for a fairly basic review of the fire service and the way in which it operates. This review is at present being carried out by a working party representative of the Departments mainly concerned, of the city and county managers and of the professional bodies and trade unions concerned. This working party was asked to prepare an interim report on fire prevention measures and they made a number of interim recommendations under this heading. They expressed support for the recommendation which had already been made by my Department to local authorities to strengthen their organisations to enable them to give more attention to fire prevention work by appointing suitable additional staff for the purpose and by availing of the training course in fire prevention which is now being conducted for such staff in the regional technical college in Galway. The working party expressed their belief that the appointment of such additional staff by local authorities, and their training, would enable the local authorities to engage more extensively and more effectively in fire prevention work within a relatively short time. The working party also suggested—and I think this is an important point—that local authorities should be prepared not only to undertake those inspections and controls for which they have specific statutory cover but to do everything they can, by information, advice and exhortation, to increase awareness of fire risk and the value of fire preventive measures.
The working party has also recommended that an interim publicity campaign should be mounted and that this would be done most effectively at local level. Specifically, the working party has suggested that local seminars on fire prevention should be organised by local authorities, particularly for management in places of public resort, but also for other groups.
The interim recommendations of the working party have been conveyed to local authorities with a request that arrangements be made to act on them as quickly as possible and an indication that my Department will be prepared to help in any way it can.
The working party is continuing with its main review. This will cover the question of training. In recent years there has been stress on the need for a proper and standardised system of training, particularly for retained fire brigades. The series of training courses organised by my Department for retained fire brigade personnel is a step in the right direction. Over the past few years improved equipment and stations have also been provided at substantial cost.
The need for additional measures in regard to these and any other aspects of the operation of the local authority fire service will be considered in due course in the light of the working party's finding and recommendations.
Elsewhere in my speech I refer to specific activities of An Foras Forbartha. This indicates the varied and valuable way in which the organisation helps my Department and the local authorities to discharge their functions more effectively.
The institute conducts research and associated work, including dissemination of research, on a wide range of functions in the environmental field. Its main activities can be best appreciated when one considers that it is organised in four research divisions—planning, including conservation, construction, roads and water resources.
A number of valuable reports were produced during the year. I shall not go into details of these. I may mention that An Foras Forbartha, having passed the early stages of its formation, is now preparing a long-term research programme. This was recommended by a group of experts which the Institute commissioned to examine its operations. I shall be interested to consider this programme in due course, not merely because I am answerable for the financing of the greater part of the activities of the institute but also because I am vitally concerned with the areas of activity in which the research operations of An Foras Forbartha can play a very important part.
Under subhead I, a sum of £345,000 is being provided for the grant-in-aid to An Foras Forbartha this year. In addition, it receives a grant from the Road Fund.
The programme for itinerants has now been in operation for a considerable number of years. A great deal of effort, voluntary and public, has been put into the programme. The State continues to offer the most generous terms to assist local authorities in their activities in this regard. Over 700 families have been accommodated in camping sites or in houses, but very many are still to be dealt with. I am particularly sorry for the plight of those families who are anxious to settle but for one reason or another cannot do so. The consequences for their children, deprived of the chance of a decent education and a good job, are particularly sad. It is particularly relevant to our social aim of equality of opportunity for all.
I am not unaware at the same time of the difficulties which beset the job of getting local communities to accept itinerant settlement. I am hopeful that a continuing and intelligent presentation of the facts and the issues will convince more and more local communities where their duty in justice and in charity lies. This must be sensibly and sensitively done, preferably at local level.
For my part, I can promise on behalf of the Government continuing support—financial and otherwise—for the whole settlement programme. I would like also to pay a tribute to the good work done to date and being done by local authorities and to all those engaged on a voluntary basis in the settlement programme.
Deputies will be aware that a comprehensive general reclassification of the entire public road network of the country has been in progress in recent years. Preliminary studies which have been conducted at engineering level between officers of the road authorities and my Department in regard to the selection of roads which might form the regional road system have now been completed and I have recently entered into consultation with the road authorities and the regional development organisations as to the particular roads in their areas which should be reclassified as regional roads. The regional roads together with the national roads already designated will replace the existing main, trunk and link, road system and, broadly speaking, form the 20 per cent most important roads in the country.
Studies have also been initiated in my Department into the question of reclassification of the urban and city street systems. This is a complex matter which must take account of the findings of the various traffic studies and their implications in the context of development plans and is not likely to be concluded for a considerable time. The common transport policy of the European Communities raises some implications for roads administration in this country. Regulations already in force at the date of our accession requires us to adopt, in common with other countries, a unified system of accounting for expenditure on infrastructure used for transport by rail, road and inland waterway, with effect from 1st January, 1974. My Department is at present examining the implications of these regulations in so far as expenditure on roads is concerned and I hope to communicate with local authorities in the matter in the near future. The unified accounting system is a preliminary to the setting up, under the common policy, of a common system of charging for the use of transport infrastructures, including a restructuring of the rates of tax on commercial vehicles, which will be designed to eliminate unfair competition between the various modes of transport, and within each mode, and to ensure that existing infrastructure capacity is used with the maximum efficiency. In so far as road infrastructure is concerned, it is envisaged that the suggested system, which is still at a preliminary stage, will be implemented over a period of at least ten years.
The provision for Road Fund grants for the current year is £18.93 million, an increase of £4.51 million on last year. This very substantial increase is evidence of the Government's awareness of the importance of our roads system in the social and commercial life of the country, and its significance for future economic growth.
The net income of the Road Fund available for grants in the current year was estimated at £13.24 million. Provision for a grant from the Exchequer in the sum of £3.29 million is included in the Book of Estimates. As announced by the Minister for Finance in his budget speech, however, the Government decided that the Exchequer grant would be increased to £5.69 million and, accordingly, a Supplementary Estimate for £2.4 million will be necessary. As I have already said, I propose to ask the House at the end of this debate to approve this proposal. The whole subject of roads financing in the long term is at present under review having regard to the needs of the roads system and taking account of the implications of EEC membership. Deputies may like to have a road break-down of how the sum of £18.93 million has been allocated. The figures are: national primary roads, £7.83 million; national secondary roads, £2.21 million; other main roads and county roads, £5.85 million; urban roads, including £6 million for traffic management works, £2.49 million; bridges and other special works, £0.55 million.
Studies carried out by An Foras Forbartha, with the co-operation of local authorities and of my Department, have shown that a high proportion—about one-third—of the mileage of national primary roads judged by fairly moderate standards, is rated as deficient for present day traffic, and that with the constant growth of traffic the deficient mileage will increase each year unless adequate measures are taken to effect the necessary improvements. An increased provision of £3 million has been provided this year for an expanded programme of improvement works on these roads.
Increased provisions, totalling more than £1 million have been made to allow some urgently needed improvements to be carried out on national secondary and other main roads and on county roads. These include a substantially increased allocation in County Dublin to provide for the needs of the expanding suburbs and in particular for the new housing areas in Tallaght, Clondalkin and Blanchardstown. Increased provisions have also been made for the on-going programmes of improvement works in the major urban areas; for upkeep grants for the national primary and secondary roads; and for the bridge construction programme.
An important innovation in the current year has been the allocation of a combined grant for the improvement and upkeep of main roads which are not national roads, and the improvement of county roads, with discretion to the local authorities to decide the choice of works to be carried out. This gives to the local authorities greater control of local works programmes.
I have merged the special category of grant for roads of tourist interest with the allocations for other roads in the areas concerned. Within the block grant system councils are now free to allocate grants for general improvements works on county roads, where they are satisfied that such works are urgent because of the condition of the roads and the amount of traffic carried. Councils will no doubt, continue to give due attention to the blacktopping of county roads in the areas where that programme is not sufficiently advanced.
In notifying Road Fund grants this year I have drawn the attention of road authorities to the necessity to ensure that road improvement works are designed to harmonise with the environment, to cause the minimum interference with the livelihood of local people or with the amenities enjoyed by them. I have also emphasised that it is of the utmost importance that full and clear information be given to all parties concerned, at the earliest possible stage, indicating the nature of proposals and the extent to which they would interfere with important local features.
A provision of £1 million has been made for grants to county councils towards the cost of improvements to accommodation and bog roads and minor drainage works serving groups of landholders. This is the same as the provision made last year, but it is, I think, fair to point out that the amount originally voted last year was only £500,000 and it was not until September of that year that a supplementary allocation of £350,000 was notified. A final allocation of £150,000 was made in December, 1972. It is, in my view, unsatisfactory that their allocations should be disclosed to county councils in such a piecemeal fashion. It is also unsatisfactory that the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Colley, should have made the final allocation of £150,000 subject to the condition that a corresponding reduction would be made in the budgetary provision for local improvement schemes in 1973-74. Taking account of this £150,000 in addition to the provision of £1 million included in the present Estimate, I am providing an increase of £300,000 or 35 per cent over the provision of £850,000 otherwise made in respect of 1972-73.
I am aware that there is a backlog of applications under this scheme and that some will take the view that a bigger provision is called for to reduce the waiting period for applicants. I sympathise with that view but it must in fairness be accepted that the amount provided is a very substantial figure and that it will permit reasonable progress towards meeting the demand for these works.
The standards and qualifications required of drivers are becoming inquire creasingly important with the growing complexity of traffic and the extension of international transport. Valuable research work, to which this country contributes, is continuously being undertaken by various international organisations with a view to identifying and establishing satisfactory standards in regard to age, theory and practice of driving, physical and mental fitness, experience et cetera.
The EEC as part of its common transport policy is working towards harmonisation of standards for driver qualification and of the laws governing driver licensing. One of its regulations which has been in operation since 1969 prescribes minimum ages and qualifications for drivers of heavy goods and large passenger vehicles. The provisions of this regulation will not apply until 1976 to Irish drivers while driving in this State. Our driver conditions for these types of vehicles do not differ substantially from those of the EEC but, in any event, Irish owners and drivers engaged in international transport have been advised by public advertisement of the implications of the regulation which may apply abroad.
In addition, the Commission of the EEC has prepared a draft directive containing comprehensive proposals for the harmonisation of all aspects of driver licensing. These include a standard licence to be valid throughout all member States; standard conditions of issue embracing driving tests and medical examinations; standard classification of vehicles and standard procedures for dealing with driving offenders and the disqualifications of licences. Progress at EEC level is expected within the next few months and, in the meantime, the implications of the various proposals are being closely examined in my Department, having regard to our existing conditions of driver qualification.
On the medical side, the procedure for assessing driver fitness in this country is generally along the lines recommended by the World Health Organisation. We do not, however, require confirmation of a satisfactory standard of eyesight and, perhaps, there may be room for improvement along this line. This aspect of driver fitness will be borne in mind in conjunction with the EEC proposals to establish medical standards.
It has been possible, in the light of experience, to introduce a number of improvements in the test procedure. In this connection I am happy to announce that candidates from now on need only demonstrate hand signals while the car is stationary, and not while driving as heretofore, and unsuccessful candidates will be able to distinguish between the serious and the minor errors which they incur on test.
I am satisfied that our driving test scheme establishes a satisfactory standard in the theory and practice of driving. In the year ended 31st March, 1973, over 72,000 tests were conducted. The cumulative total is now over 450,000 since the introduction of the scheme in 1964. More than 36 per cent of holders of full driving licences have now passed the test and this proportion will increase progressively in the coming years. The success rate in the tests is now slightly less than 50 per cent. With a view to achieving a higher degree of uniformity, the standard procedure for conducting the test and the guidelines for marking faults were revised recently in the light of experience over the past nine years.
Traffic congestion in our cities and towns continues to be one of the most pressing problems of our times. It is now recognised that the building of new roads, even if it were socially and economically possible, cannot of itself solve the problem; it must be tackled in a number of other ways. One of the ways in which I am endeavouring to alleviate congestion is by encouraging local authorities to implement various management measures such as the provision of car parks, one-way streets, clearways, parking restrictions, traffic lights and other works of a minor nature all of which go towards making the best use of the road space available. I have allocated £600,000 from the Road Fund this year for traffic management proposals and I would ask local authorities to submit their proposals to absorb the grant as quickly as possible. I might add that it is not only traffic which will benefit from these undertakings but also the pedestrian. It can be said that certain improvements have resulted from traffic management measures already carried out and, while further improvements will be effected, though the scope for this is now lessening as evidenced by the lower allocation this year as against last year, it is obvious that long term planning for major works must be pursued at the same time.
Other management measures, in particular the making of bye-laws and temporary rules for the control of traffic and parking, are primarily the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner and local authorities. My functions are mainly of an enabling nature and also involve the giving of my consent to bye-laws and rules. The enforcement of these bye-laws and rules is, of course, a matter for the Garda Síochána in administering the Road Traffic Acts and the Road Fund contributes substantially to the Garda Vote for this purpose.
I have authorised the preparation of legislative proposals to proceed to enable local authorities to appoint traffic wardens for their areas should they wish to do so. This, in effect, would formalise the present administrative arrangement in Dublin where traffic wardens are under the control and direction of Dublin Corporation. Built-up area and special speed limits continue to be reviewed on a county by county basis as part of an on-going process of review of speed limits throughout the country generally. I am examining arrangements for expediting the review procedure. The general speed limit of 60 mph which has applied to all roads not subject to a lower limit since 1st April, 1969, is being constantly kept under review by An Foras Forbartha. OECD, in co-operation with European Conference of Ministers for Transport, are also involved in examining speed limits policies generally and have recently issued a report on speed limits outside built-up areas, with particular regard to the link between speed and accidents. They are now in the process of taking the matter a step further and, until the final conclusions are available, I do not intend to revise the current general speed limit.
Our entry into the EEC has implications also for the work of my Department in relation to controls on vehicles. The Community is engaged on a programme for the elimination of technical barriers to trade in the motor vehicle sector. In pursuance of this programme uniform standards for vehicles and their components are being adopted and it is obligatory on us to ensure that vehicles complying with the standards adopted by the Community are allowed to circulate on our roads. Our vehicle regulations under the Road Traffic Acts will be brought into line as necessary for this purpose.
The question of the weights and dimensions of commercial vehicles is being processed at Community level in the context of a common transport policy. The six founder member states had reached a degree of agreement on some of the more controversial items of the problem generally, but the three acceding members did not accord their agreement to these proposals, particularly the single axle weight and the gross vehicle weight. Ireland will continue to urge a lower single axle weight than that of the 11 metric tons proposed, and also for a lower gross maximum weight than the 40 metric tons put forward for articulated vehicles and truck/trailer combinations.
The EEC has adopted a directive on motor insurance which requires that every motor insurance policy issued in this country and other member States will, not later than 31st December next, provide the minimum third-party cover required by the laws of each member State. Certain other countries are associated with the EEC for this purpose. This arrangement will facilitate the movement of goods and persons by road within the Community and the associated countries, especially as the directive foresees the abolition of the examination of insurance documents at frontier posts in respect of vehicles travelling between the states concerned. Accordingly, from 1st January, 1974, motor insurance policies issued in this country must include cover in respect of claims arising from accidents while travelling within the EEC and associated countries.
The existing controls over the licensing and operation of small public service vehicles are being reviewed at present and in this connection representations received in recent years regarding problems associated with the taxi and hackney business throughout the country are being given full consideration. An on-going committee for the Dublin area formed in 1972 under the aegis of Dublin Corporation, which is representative of all the interests involved, have submitted a number of recommendations to me which they consider would lead to the improvement of the taxi service in the Dublin area. They include one that the number of small public service vehicles should be stabilised at the present figure and that there should be only one period in the year during which new applications for small public service vehicle licences could be made. Another recommendation is that a taxi board be set up in connection with the operation of the business in the Dublin area. As regards stabilisation or limitation of numbers, this could be operated only if amending legislation was enacted. On the question of new licences, I have made regulations providing that applications for licences for taxis are to be made henceforth on an annual rather than a quarterly basis. As regards the other recommendations, these are being examined at present in consultation with the interests concerned not only in relation to the Dublin area but also in relation to other areas.
The research project on vehicle defects and road safety, which my Department asked An Foras Forbartha to undertake, got under way in September, 1972. The purpose of the project is to determine the incidence of defects in vehicles in use and to consider their implications for road safety measures. A related problem to be investigated is to determine the extent to which vehicles may be overloaded in relation to their design characteristics. The project team has so far examined a sample of private cars in the Dublin, Sligo and Mullingar areas and recorded the results for future study. Arrangements are being made to bring commercial vehicles within the scope of the project. An analysis of the data obtained from the project will be used to provide information to determine what further controls are required to reduce the chances of defective vehicles being used on the roads. The EEC Commission has produced a draft directive on the technical inspection of vehicles. The information emerging from the Foras Forbartha study will be of value in our examination of the EEC proposals.
Over the last ten months there has been a small decrease in fatalities compared with the corresponding period of 1971-72. I would like to attribute to increased enforcement by the Garda particularly of the breathalyser law, a significant part in at least halting the ever-increasing spiral of road deaths. The very large number of drivers detected by the gardaí and subsequently found to have blood-alcohol levels considerably in excess of the legal limit of 125 milligrammes is an indication of the prevalence of drinking and driving in this country. While many people may not accept it, or choose to ignore it, the weight of scientific evidence points to excessive consumption of alcohol as a major factor in road accidents particularly on weekend nights, traditional drinking periods. The operation of the breathalyser law was affected by two Supreme Court decisions this year. One of these decisions related to the sealing of blood and urine samples, and I took immediate steps by way of amending regulations to revise the statutory procedures. The second decision ruled that portion of a section of the breathalyser law was unconstitutional. Following on these decisions, I introduced amending legislation which was passed by the Oireachtas at the end of the last term.
Our serious road accident problem cannot all be laid at the door of the drinking driver. It covers the whole spectrum of driving behaviour or, perhaps, more appropriately, driving misbehaviour as reflected in the appalling road manners, the excessive speeding and the continuous violation of traffic rules by many drivers. Here I would like to mention that, as already announced by my colleague the Minister for Justice, increased enforcement facilities are now becoming available to the gardaí through the recently established traffic corps, units of which are in operation in a number of areas. As these units expand and extend their areas of operation, I believe they will act as an effective deterrent to the would-be traffic offender.
Enforcement is only part of the answer to the problem. Other means are necessary to make road users more conscious of their responsibilities. For some years my Department have maintained a constant stream of road safety propaganda by way of films, literature and various publicity campaigns. Various educational projects aimed particularly at children have been devised and implemented including junior school warden schemes, a pilot traffic school for children operated by Dublin Corporation and the provision of visual aids for giving road safety instruction to children in primary schools. With financial assistance from my Department, road safety officers are working to promote road safety at local level.
The assistance and co-operation of other agencies in road safety promotion has been readily forthcoming. The Department of Education, local authorities, the Garda, the Safety First Association and local road safety bodies, teachers, school authorities, cinema managements, Radio Telefís Éireann, the press and various organisations and commercial interests have all contributed towards the efforts being made in the sphere of education and propaganda. The effects of education and propaganda cannot readily be measured and no one can really assess how many lives have been saved. It is, however, abundantly clear that greater effort is required in the level and the impact of road safety measures to achieve more positive results.
Following a review of the current organisation and effectiveness of road safety activities, including proposals which were before my predecessor in office, I decided to proceed with the establishment of the National Road Safety Association which was brought into being on 16th July, 1973, when I appointed the chairman and executive committee of the organisation which is representative of a number of organisations and interests. The principal objectives of this new organisation will be to secure greater co-ordination of road accident prevention measures on a countrywide basis, using the county as a basic unit of organisation, to prepare programmes which would secure the direct involvement of local community interests and to ensure that the moneys expended on road safety are spent to the best effect. As a start, the new national body has already been assigned the road safety propaganda and publicity activity in which the Department had been engaged.
The association had already decided on a publicity programme to be undertaken during the winter months and on a pilot project aimed at devising the best means of securing local community involvement. I envisage other functions in relation to road safety being assigned to the new body at a later stage.
The new body will be financed mainly from State funds and I propose that they should have corporate status as soon as possible to facilitate its initiative and responsibilities.
The Public Services Organisation Review Group reported some time ago on the organisation of Government Departments and the distribution of functions between Departments. One of the more important recommendations made by the group related to the structure of Departments and the arrangements for discharging executive as distinct from policy functions. Special studies have been initiated in some Departments including my Department for the purpose of analysing in detail their work and functions. In the case of my Department the study will advise on what functions should be devolved on the local authorities or on executive units. The study is being directed by a task force and a working party of senior officers of the Department of the Public Service and my Department. Arrangements are being made for full consultation with local authority and staff interests. It is hoped that the study will be completed early in the new year and then a final agreed report will be submitted to me and the Minister for the Public Service for consideration.
The pace of local development has put considerable pressures on the staffs of local authorities in recent years. In order to ensure that the manpower needs of the service are properly evaluated and met, I have established an advisory committee to be known as the Local Government Manpower Committee. This committee will advise on the needs of the service for suitably qualified and trained personnel in adequate numbers for the work in hands and on the promotion of measures to meet these needs. Its first major task will be to advise on the introduction of systematic training programmes for all staff.
The net estimate for a sum of £33,292,000 represents just over a quarter of the total central government expenditure of £114 million with which my Department is directly concerned in the current year. In addition to the voted provision, the two other main sources from which the funds come are the local loans fund and the Road Fund. To this figure must be added expenditures met by local authorities from other sources giving total expenditure on local government services of over £250 million including contributions to health boards and other bodies.
The mounting expenditure on these services makes it imperative that the aims and objectives of the services should be clearly defined and that we should know the contribution the expenditure is making towards achieving those aims and objectives, in terms of meeting the needs and remedying the deficiencies identified. That is the purpose of the introduction of the techniques of programme budgeting in my Department and in local authorities.
Because of the diversity of local government services, the interaction in services between my Department and local authorities, and the complexity of measuring needs and achievement it will take some years to make the system fully operational. The first step in introducing the system in local authorities is intended to be a revision of the basis on which the local authorities prepare their estimates. The revised estimating procedures will require authorities to project in programme form their expenditure and income and the results which the expenditure is intended to achieve for a period of five years ahead. This should enable elected members to take a forward look at what their programmes will achieve and at the levels of expenditure and of income which are likely to be needed to sustain their programmes, as well as reviewing annually the rate of progress towards satisfaction of local needs.
I would regard it is an essential part of the programme budgeting system as it is to apply to local authorities and a measure of its value as an aid to planning and management, that it should facilitate a much greater devolution of responsibility and decision-making within the broad framework of programmes to local authorities and it is my intention to ensure that this aspect receives particular attention at all stages of the introduction and development of programme budgeting in local government. Initially, it is intended that the revised estimating procedure will be brought in on an experimental basis side by side with the traditional estimates. With a view to familiarising local authority members and officers with the programme budgeting system, officers of my Department have participated in a series of courses and seminars at various centres throughout the country at which the application of programme budgeting both in my Department and in the local authorities has been discussed.
In the sphere of local authority finance, the most significant development since the Government took office has been the decision to reduce the amount required to be provided from local rates for health services and local authority housing. In their 14-point plan announced before the general election, the National Coalition had stated their intention to reduce rates by transferring from local to central taxation, on a phased basis, that part of the cost of health services and local authority housing which, heretofore, had fallen on the rates. At the end of March last. the Government announced that, as the first phase in this transfer, local authorities in 1973-74 would be required to strike a rate in the pound for health services and local authority housing equivalent to only 75 per cent of the rates struck for these purposes in 1972-73. This decision means that the Government not only is paying the full amount of any increases in the costs of these services as between 1972-73 and the current financial year, but also that the liabilities of local authorities for these services have, this year, been reduced by 25 per cent as compared with 1972-73.
The consequence of this decision by the Government is that, for the first time in very many years, local authority rates in most areas have been reduced. For example, the reduction in the rates in the pound between last year and this year is 31p in County Carlow, 35p in Cork North, 29p in Cork South, 11p in County Galway, 25p in County Mayo, 78p in County Sligo, 37p in County Wexford; in the county boroughs of Cork and Limerick, the reduction is 35p in the £ in each case while in the county borough of Dublin the reduction is 29p in the £. These reductions indicate a position which compares more than favourably with that which has obtained over the past few years—a glance at the change in rates between 1971-72 and 1972-73 shows the following increases for the same authorities: Carlow, 80p; Cork North, 84p; Cork South, 79p; Galway, 54p; Mayo, 115p; Sligo, 74p; Wexford, 105p; in the county boroughs referred to, the increases had been Cork 82p, Limerick 95p, and Dublin 59p.
A number of local authorities had struck their rates before the Government's decision was announced and, in order that the ratepayers in those areas might benefit from the reductions announced by the Government, the Local Government (Rates) Act, 1973, was enacted to validate the action of those local authorities in levying reduced rates.
A good deal of play has been made in the House of the fact that the relief from rates which has been given applies not just to private residences, but to all other categories of hereditaments as well. To those who have been critical of this significant change for the better in the matter of local taxation, I would like to put the following questions. Are they serious when they say that no relief should be given in respect of any hereditament which is not used as a private dwellinghouse?
Is relief to be refused to the small shopkeeper? Is it to be refused to the owners of small hotels whose business may be affected by fluctuations in tourist traffic? Is it to be refused in the case of small—or not so small—industrial undertakings some of which may be battling hard to keep going in the face of increased competition and rising costs? Are land holdings and are local community halls and centres also to be precluded from getting relief? I and many people throughout the country, would like to hear a clear exposition of the Government's critics' stand on the question of withholding relief from hereditaments such as those I have mentioned.
However, lest it be still imagined that the present form of rate relief is enjoyed to the same extent by the rated occupiers of office-blocks and large industrial concerns, I would like to point out that, in the case of any commercial or industrial concern which is making a profit and is liable for income tax and, where appropriate, corporation profits tax, their offset for tax purposes will be reduced by the amount of their saving on rates. In these cases, a considerable proportion, sometimes up to 50 per cent of the total saving on rates will have to be returned to the State by way of increases in the amounts of Central Government taxation which will have to be paid by them.
In the year ended 31st March last, schemes for the granting of relief from rates to persons in necessitous circumstances were adopted by 54 local authorities. The number of persons who benefited from these schemes was approximately 21,400, an increase of about 5,300, 33 per cent on the previous year's figure. Up to the end of September, 47 local authorities had adopted rates waiver schemes for the current year and had submitted them to me for approval. The trend has been that many local authorities have been adopting their schemes quite late in the year—often after the rate demands have been served. I would ask those local authorities which have been operating rates waiver schemes, or which propose to do so, to consider their adoption at a much earlier stage in future years so that those people who need relief from rates will know where they stand as early as possible —preferably before they are served with demands for their rates.
While on the topic of rates, I would also like to draw attention to the schemes operated by local authorities for the payment of rates in instalments spread over ten months of the year, instead of in two moieties payable on receipt of the rates demand and on 1st October of each year. This facility is available, as a matter of right, to all householders and occupiers of agricultural holdings and it seems to me to have very definite attractions for a large number of these ratepayers. The numbers of persons availing of this facility continue to rise each year—last year over 14,000 persons paid rates under the instalment schemes.
As Deputies are aware, the elected members of the local authorities in Dublin city and Bray were removed from office in 1969. On my appointment as Minister for Local Government, I set about the task of restoring power to the former members. Each of the surviving members of the former councils was asked to indicate whether he or she would be in a position and willing to accept appointment as a commissioner for Dublin or Bray, as appropriate. At the beginning of May, I made orders appointing new commissioners for the two authorities; the orders provided that appointments to subsidiary bodies and the conduct of business should be done in the same manner as if the new commissioners constituted the elected councils. The orders also provided for the appointment of a chairman by each group of commissioners from among themselves and, in the case of Dublin, that the chairman should exercise and perform all the powers, duties and functions exercisable and performable by the Lord Mayor. Thus democratic local government has been restored in Dublin city and Bray.
As the House is aware, local elections were not held this year and this decision has been endorsed by the Local Elections Act, 1973. The decision to postpone the elections for one year was taken because of the number of elections which had already been held in the past year and because of the proximity of the Presidential election. In coming to this decision the Government were also conscious of the need for a fresh examination of local government itself. The previous Government issued a White Paper on the subject of Local Government Reorganisation in February, 1971, but no legislation arising out of this had been brought before the House up to the time they left office.
I agree that there is a need for a review of local government but having said that may I also add that I do not believe in changing things just for the sake of changing them? My approach to the matter will be based on the Government's election pledge that it "will hold it as a priority at all times that power must be vested in the people, and that local government must be made truly democratic and relevant to their needs". Preparation of proposals for local government re-organisation is proceeding and I intend to circulate them to local authorities for comment before making final decisions.
The Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1973, which became law on 9th April, 1973, made the following provisions regarding the reduction of the voting age:— It reduced the age for membership of local authorities from 21 to 18 years; it reduced the voting age at local government elections from 21 to 18 years; it effected a similar reduction in the voting age at elections of university members to the Seanad; it amended the law to enable electors to be registered at 18 instead of 21.
All elections, national and local, and all referenda will now be held on a franchise extended to these young people.
A complete and accurate register of electors is a vital part of the democratic machinery. Immediately on taking up appointment as Minister, I instructed my Department to carry out a general review of the system to see what improvements are possible. This review is proceeding in consultation with the registration authorities. The register now being prepared will be used at the local elections in June, 1974 and I have asked registration authorities to ensure that the standard of accuracy will be as high as possible. I recognise that accuracy depends to a large extent on the co-operation of the public and I have written to all Dáil Deputies inviting their assistance in fostering among the public generally and among constituency organisations and other local groups a keener awareness of the importance of having a really accurate register. I would like to repeat that plea now.
I have already in this House and elsewhere expressed my concern about the inequalities in representation which exist between the different local electoral areas in many counties. There are several instances where twice as many voters are required for election in one area as compared with the next within the same county. In general, these areas were drawn up over 30 years ago and have not been revised to take account of the changes in the distribution of population which have occurred since. While the statutory power in this matter rests with me, it is my opinion that full account should be taken of the views of the local council and of the needs of the local community. Therefore, I invited local authorities to submit proposals for the revision of their local electoral areas where such revision is considered necessary. My Department is at present examining the response of local councils to this invitation.
My Department has responsibility for the audit of the accounts of local authorities and other local bodies, such as health boards, most of which derive funds in whole or in part from local rates. The cost of this service in 1973-74 is estimated to be about £121,000 including salaries and travelling expenses. Fees charged to the bodies audited are expected to bring in £57,000.
Under the combined purchasing system, purchases by local authorities including health boards, are currently running at a level estimated at £6.5 million per year. The bulk of this expenditure relates to commodities manufactured or processed in this country. On the whole, the system continues to operate smoothly and affords local authorities a useful service.
As the Minister for Finance announced in his budget speech on the 16th May, the Government have decided to change the financial year to a calendar year basis in order to facilitate the co-ordination of economic and budgetary policies within the EEC. Owing to the very close ties between State and local expenditure, it has been decided that the local financial year must likewise be changed.
The necessary legislation to give effect to this proposal is at present being prepared by the Minister for Finance and it is hoped that the changeover will take effect from the 1st January, 1975 in the case of both the Exchequer financial year and the local financial year.
In the meantime, my Department have carried out a review of existing legislation concerning local authorities which will be affected by the changeover. The principal impact on the general public will arise from the alteration of the rating year. While this purely technical measure will not, of course, result in any extra costs on ratepayers, I am particularly concerned to ensure that they will be inconvenienced as little as possible by the change.
Arrangements are being made to hold during the next few months a series of seminars for local representatives at which all the implications of the calendar year for local authorities may be discussed.