asked the Minister for the Environment if he intends to meet his counterpart in Northern Ireland soon; and, if so, when.
19.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Meeting with Northern Ireland Minister.
18.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Belfast; if he will give details of his discussions with the Northern Ireland Minister for the Environment; and if he will describe the topics discussed with particular reference to the geographical areas involved.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 19 together.
I had a meeting with Mr. David Mitchell, MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Northern Ireland at Stormont on 17 May. An interesting and very useful discussion took place on a number of matters of common concern to the two Departments including the matters referred to below.
1. The future development of the Larne to Rosslare road as a European Route. It was agreed in particular to seek to expedite consideration by the EEC of the request made on 19 March 1982 for support from the Regional Development Fund for a joint study of the improvement of the Dundalk to Newry section.
2. The question of follow-up to the cross-Border study which has been carried out of communications in the Donegal-Derry area (taking account of the Government's decision to support an airport development at the Big Isle, Letterkenny) and the study of the Erne Catchment Area.
3. The system in operation in Northern Ireland for fixing rents of controlled dwellings and the general question of financial approaches and incentives for housing, including my Department's special mortgage subsidy scheme.
4. Monitoring and prevention of pollution affecting the Erne and Foyle catchments. It was agreed to extend exchanges on monitoring systems and results as well as liaison and information on arrangements for dealing with oil pollution of coasts.
5. Arrangements for industrial waste disposal, including liaison in relation to cross-Border movements of such waste, on which it was agreed to have further discussions.
The meeting was part of the work of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council. The matters discussed will be followed up as appropriate at official level.
I welcome the Minister's reply, which gives us some material for study. Would the Minister accept every £1 spent either in sterling or in punts in the Border areas, North or South, would do most good for the advancement of these studies? Will the Minister bear in mind that we should have some allocation of finance as a matter of priority?
I accept the Deputy's point with regard to financial expenditure. That is why I am particularly anxious to see the Newry-Dundalk road study getting under way. I am also anxious to see a road from Rosslare to Larne and a cross-Border communications study in Donegal. An allocation of £1 million is available to the five Border counties.
My questions were on the Order Paper months ago and the Minister probably took the hint and went to Belfast. When in that city did he talk to the Minister responsible about the housing programmes on which they have embarked in the North? These involve supplementary grants and loans for repairing existing houses.
We had a wide-ranging discussion on the whole question of housing. The Minister and his officials expressed considerable interest in our mortgage subsidy scheme and I was anxious to get the benefit of their experience in regard to rent tribunal structures which we will be introducing here. The whole housing area was covered, but the Deputy will accept that at a meeting lasting three or four hours it was not possible to cover every detail.
While I acknowledge that it is very important to talk about grandiose schemes such as a Newry-Rosslare road——
A question, please.
——and the cross-Border communications study, a more mundane aspect——
Will you ask a question?
Would the Minister not agree that grants are available to people living north of the Border which are not available to their relatives on this side of the Border? The grants available in the North are far more generous than they are here and the assistance given towards the repair of existing houses and the building of new houses is such that it is quite embarrassing for Border Deputies to answer questions from constituents on this matter. Were these matters discussed with the Minister's counterpart in the North and, if so, what explanation did the Minister give regarding the non-availability of grants here?
I am surprised to hear the Deputy talk about embarrassment. He will be aware that I recently extended the whole reconstruction grants scheme. The Minister and his officials in the North were very interested in the incentive factor in our mortgage subsidy scheme introduced by me in April 1981. I do not accept the other points made by the Deputy.
Deputy Markey.
The point I am making——
I have called Deputy Markey.
In assuming that the Minister will have further discussions with his counterpart in the North, will he request Mr. Butler to use his best influence with public representatives in certain local authorities north of the Border, such as Armagh County Council, to participate in discussions with local authorities south of the Border as part of the ongoing discussions which have been a factor of Border life for the past three yeears?
I share the Deputy's concern that there should be communication and dialogue North and South between the relevant local authorities. It is a point I mentioned and I will follow it up.
When speaking with his counterpart in the North was the Minister not aware of the generous grants which are available there and would he not match those grants for people here who wish to repair their homes?
Does the Deputy suggest that the money for increased grants should be raised by higher taxes or by borrowing? Would the Deputy suggest how the money should be raised? We have a system of mortgage subsidies, new house grants and reconstruction grants and the people in the North were particularly interested in the incentives we are giving in the mortgage subsidy scheme. It is not all one-way traffic, as the Deputy tries to imply.
Question No. 20 is postponed. Question No. 21.