I move amendment No. 18:
In page 5, paragraph (b), to delete lines 14 to 30, and substitute the following:
"‘(3) The exercise by the Board outside the State of any of the powers confined by paragraphs (a), (b), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k) or (1) of subsection (1) of this section and the exercise by the Board in the State of any of the powers conferred by the said paragraphs (h), (i), (j) or (k) shall be subject to the prior consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.
(4) Any power conferred on the Board by subsection (1) (j) of this section in relation to cut-away bog shall only be exercised in accordance with such general directives as may be laid down, from time to time, by the Minister.
(5) In this section "cut-away bog" means a bog substantially cleared of turf'.".
This amendment, since being listed on an Order Paper of the previous Dáil has been further amended on the advice of the parliamentary draftsman, and that accounts for some of the changes to the previous amendment. It amends section 7 in three important respects.
Bord na Móna have asked that the level of ministerial control of their powers outside the State should be relaxed. They have claimed that section 7 (b) (3) of the Bill is too restrictive. They accept that it is appropriate to provide for ministerial control in respect of the non-peat related powers but most of the other powers are routine, day-to-day matters. This point was also raised by many speakers during Second Stage and the amendment to subsection (3) now removes ministerial control on the powers outside the State at paragraphs (c), (d), (e) and (f) of section 7 (a) (1) of the Bill. These powers relate to such routine and day-to-day activities as entering into contracts, undertaking hire purchase schemes, operating shops and showrooms, and mounting exhibitions. Most of these powers are exercised abroad in the context of the board's marketing activity and are not ones that require approval by the Minister.
In relation to ministerial control, the thrust of the Bill is that the non-peat related powers should be subject to the approval of the Minister whereas the board will be free of such control so far as their peat-related powers are concerned. At paragraph (j) of section 7 (a) (1) the board are being given the power to develop commercially certain cutaway and other bogs incapable of commercial exploitation for turf production. However, this non-peat related power is not subject to the approval of the Minister. In keeping with the general thrust of the Bill it is considered appropriate that the Minister should have to give his approval to any developments in this area. Subsection (3) of this amendment now provides the necessary control.
Subsection (4) of this amendment provides that the use or disposal by the board of cut-away bog shall be subject to ministerial directives. This is to remove from the original Bill the unqualified right to all cut-away of Coilltes which they consider suitable for afforestation purpose and enables the Minister to implement the recommendations of the independent Committee of experts to consider the use of cut-away when these are received.
Subsection (5) of the amendment includes a definition of cut-away bog in the section. This necessitates a consequential deletion of the definition in section 1.
The point that Deputy Bruton raised relates principally to subsection (4). The position I inherited was that Coillte would have first call on any cut-away bog required for afforestation purposes, Coillte and Bord na Móna would between them examine the various cut-away bogs that were available and Coillte could decide which ones they required for forestry purposes. The Government decided to make a change in that arrangement and provided for the change in this Bill. The change involved the establishment of a committee of experts to look at the disposal of cut-away bog which is going to become available in very large quantities over the next 30 to 40 years. Happily, Bord na Móna through their own research and development have succeeded in transforming cut-away bog, which I suppose heretofore could have been deemed practically derelict land, into excellent grazing land. Very substantial quantities of cut-away bog will become available over the next 40 years so it is important that the State lay down a comprehensive policy for the use of these lands. Arguments have been made for use other than afforestation by farmers in the midland area who are adjacent to the cut-away bogs, that these good farmlands might revert to farming purposes to increase the number of smallholders farming in the midlands or other areas where the land is available.
I do not know what the final outcome of the investigations undertaken by the committee I have set up will be but they are in a position to invite submissions from all interested parties. The IFA and the ICSMA and other rural organisations have made submissions to the Department in regard to the future policy on the disposal of cut-away bogs. I felt, and indeed the Government felt, it was necessary to have a comprehensive look at the question and we have appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Donal Creed, the former Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Food to receive and consider submissions and make recommendations to the Minister. If the Government support the recommendations of the committee the Minister would want to be in a position to implement those recommendations. The section is amended in order to ensure that the Minister has the power to issue general directives in regard to the future use of cut-away bogs. I think it is a much more satisfactory arrangement than what has been made heretofore. I know it has been widely welcomed by the farming organisations and I expect that a very substantial number will avail of the opportunity to present their viewpoint to this group of experts. I await with great interest the outcome of their work and I look forward to seeing their recommendations. I expect they will make recommendations to me well before the end of this year. I am reluctant to delay the disposal of cut-away bogs but I think a couple of months is a small period to wait when one is laying down a policy which may be in operation for many decades. If the policy is a good one, it could operate over that period and play a very major part in rural life in the areas where this land becomes available in such huge quantities. The position that obtained was that Bord na Móna after developing the lands put them up for auction and sold them off in very large lots. I did not consider that very satisfactory from a socio-economic point of view but it would have been satisfactory purely and simply from Bord na Móna's point of view. I felt it was a wider issue than the Bord na Móna requirement and I am anxious to see the national socio-economic issue addressed in the disposal of these lands. The quantities that will become available for disposal are very extensive and in the region of 200,000 acres is expected to become available over the next 30 to 40 years. We are talking about an amount of land equivalent to the size of an Irish county. It is quite substantial.