PRIVATE BUSINESS. - HOUSING BILL, 1928—THIRD STAGE.
The Seanad went into Committee.
Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 agreed to.
SECTION 5.
(1) The Principal Act shall be construed and have effect and be deemed always to have had effect as if the following rule were inserted in the First Schedule to that Act in lieu of the rule 5 now contained in that Schedule, that is to say:—
"5. The erection or reconstruction of a house shall have been begun after the passing of this Act and not later than the 1st day of April, 1929, and shall have been completed before the 18th day of October, 1929, or within such further period not exceeding four months from the said 18th day of October, 1929, as the Minister in any particular case may allow."
(2) The Principal Act shall be construed and have effect and be deemed always to have had effect as if the following note were inserted at the end of Part I of the Second Schedule to that Act in lieu of the note now contained in that Part of that Schedule, that is to say:—
"Note:—Where, in the case of a house to which this Act applies, the erection or reconstruction is not completed before the 18th day of October, 1929, and the time for such completion is extended, the grant shall, unless the Minister otherwise directs, be reduced by one-tenth for every month between the said 18th day of October, 1929, and the date of actual completion of the erection or re-construction."
I beg to move as an amendment:—
In section 5. To delete the words and figures "18th day of October, 1929," wherever they occur in the section, and to substitute therefor the words and figures "31st day of March, 1930."
The object of this amendment is really to make the Bill consistent with the amendment that was introduced while the Bill was passing through the other House. The Bill as introduced made a grant available for houses that were started before 17th October of the present year and that would be completed not later than the 18th October, 1929. On the Report Stage an amendment was inserted extending the time when houses might be started from the 17th October this year to the 1st April of the new year, but the other House made no provision for any extension of the period within which the house might be completed. The result is that houses started on the 31st March next have got to be completed in less than six and a half months in order that the full grant may be got without any deduction from it. That is really too short a period in normal circumstances to allow for the completion of a house from the time it was started, even in the case of private speculators. It has been represented to me that in the case of public authorities the difficulties are sometimes greater.
Delays are greater owing to the number of regulations that have got to be complied with. If there were a case for a year between the commencement and the completion of the houses under the Bill as introduced there seems to me to be an equally strong case for allowing a similar period under the new conditions. If the Minister would agree to extend the period to the 31st December it would, I think, meet the case but I am trying to make it consistent with the original principle of the Bill.
This matter was considered when we were dealing with the extension of the time for the last day of commencing. It was decided that there was nothing inconsistent with the position. First there is no condition attaching to houses being put up by local authorities with regard to the final day for completion. They can be completed at any time. Once plans have been agreed to and the money has been allocated local authorities are not hurried in any way, so we are only concerned with private persons, and in so far as private persons are concerned, if there is no money available to be allocated in, say, February next, a private person cannot get any portion of this £250,000 because they cannot be allotted money that is not available for them. So the extension of facilities for the date for the commencement of the houses to the 1st April, 1929, is simply to give the fullest possible advantage that persons can be given inside the limits of the amount of money available. Persons cannot expect that this can go on from year to year. If some money is available and a grant is made to persons before the 1st April they must have their houses finished by the 17th April, but the Minister has power under the Act to extend it for four months, that is until the 17th August, 1930, on full consideration of all the facts. If the Senator would be satisfied with an extension to the 31st December, as he says, there is power under the Act to do that.
Without making any deduction?
Yes. The Minister has such power. If the circumstances are such that it does not seem to the Minister to be warranted, there is no reason to make a deduction.
That relieves a certain amount of misconception. One local authority thought that if their houses were not completed by the 17th October they would not get a grant from the Government, or if they got it there would be some deduction made. In view of the statement of the Minister I find the position is different, and therefore I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
The Bill was ordered to be reported without amendment.
The Seanad went out of Committee.
The Bill was reported without amendment.
