This Bill has two aims: (1) to increase the maximum permissible financial contribution by county councils to committees of agriculture and (2) to provide for the recruitment of at least 50 per cent of the members of committees of agriculture from outside the membership of county councils.
Section 1 of the Bill deals with the first of these objectives. It provides, with effect as from the financial year commencing 1st April, 1965, for an increase in the maximum local contribution from its present level of 15 times the produce of a rate of one penny in the area consisting of the county, exclusive of urban districts, to 21 times the produce of such rate.
As the House is, no doubt, aware committees of agriculture derive the money for the service of their agricultural schemes both from county council contributions and from grants from my Department related to the local contributions. At present the local contribution in each county may not be less than twice nor more than 15 times the produce of a penny rate. Before last October the total grants from my Department to the committees amounted to approximately the total contributions from the councils. Acting on the recommendation of the inter-departmental Committee on the Problems of Small Western Farms, I decided to improve the basis of grants to 12 committees of agriculture with a view to bringing about a speedy and substantial strengthening of the advisory services in the western areas. The result of the improved grant is that since October last my Department is contributing 75 per cent of the salaries of the advisory officers in these areas instead of 50 per cent as formerly. In respect of the other areas my Department continues to contribute to the committees an amount approximating in the aggregate to the total amount contributed by county councils.
The present maximum of 15 times the produce of a penny rate was laid down in the Agriculture (Amendment) Act, 1958. Before that the maximum was the produce of a tenpenny rate. Since the enactment of the 1958 Act, 15 committees have availed of its provisions by obtaining an amount higher than the former maximum. One of these committees is now in receipt of the present maximum contribution and four more are very near the limit. The increased expenditure by committees in recent years arises mainly from the very welcome expansion in their advisory services. The number of all categories of advisers employed by the committees in 1963/64 was 402 compared with 313 in 1957/58, i.e., an increase of approximately 30 per cent. The expenditure of committees increased in the same period from £559,428 to £828,017. In the next few years it is expected that there will be a further substantial increase in the number of advisers, both to implement the expansion scheme already initiated for the western areas, to which I have already referred, and in other areas also, to meet the growing demand from farmers for technical advice to assist them in the economical running of their farms and the efficient production of high quality goods to enable them to meet the very keen competition in modern markets.
Apart from the increase in the number of advisers, the periodic upward trends in the salaries of the committees' staffs and increasing costs generally have to be taken into account. For example, many committees have increased the number of scholarships awarded by them to young men and young women tenable at agricultural schools and schools of rural domestic economy — a most desirable development. It is evident that due to these various demands, committees now at or near the maximum local contribution of fifteen times the produce of a penny rate will be unable to carry out their agricultural programmes unless they are enabled by legislation to increase their income in the future. That is the purpose of section 1 of this Bill. County councils will not of course be obliged to increase their contributions. They are merely being enabled to do so, where they consider such an increase is needed.
Section 2 of the Bill deals with the second aim to which I referred earlier, that is the recruitment of at least 50 per cent of the members of committees of agriculture from outside the membership of the county councils. At present the legal position, dating from 1931, is that committees of agriculture may be compased either entirely of county councillors, or partly of councillors and partly of non-councillors. In practice, the proportion of non-councillors on committees of agriculture varies considerably from one county to another; some county councils tend to confine membership to councillors while others have shown a more liberal outlook towards the appointment of non-councillors.
I feel that with the great changes which have taken place in rural circumstances since this provision was originally framed over 30 years ago, a change in the requirements for membership of committees is now called for. I have particularly in mind the emergence of voluntary rural organisations, the extension of the co-operative movement, the growth of the educational and advisory services and the development of new farming techniques generally. It goes without saying that committees of agriculture would derive considerable advantage from the inclusion in their membership of suitable persons from the voluntary rural organisations and the co-operative movement, and also local individuals prominent in the practice of farming or development of agriculture. There are undoubtedly progressive persons in every county who could make a worthwhile contribution to the work of committees of agriculture but who, for one reason or another, are unwilling to stand for election to the county council. I consider it desirable that such persons should have a greater opportunity to become members of committees of agriculture. With this objective in view, section 2 (1) (a) of this Bill provides that where a committee of agriculture consists of an even number of members the number of councillors shall not exceed the number of non-councillors, and, where the committee consists of an odd number, the numbebr of councillors shall not exceed the number of non-councillors by more than one.
In order to ensure that this widening of the scope of membership will have the desired effect, section 2 (1) (c) of the Bill provides that each non-councillor member shall be chosen by reason of his attainments in the practice of farming or in the development of agriculture and rural living in the particular locality in which he resides, or by reason of his attainments in the promotion of agricultural or rural home education and advisory work. County councils in making appointments under the section are expected to select men or women of attainments, that is, who are progressive farmers or who have taken a leading part in one or more of the activities I have mentioned. I believe that this change will increase the effectiveness of committees, especially in the educational and advisory aspects of their functions, which I consider to be predominantly the most important.
While I am suggesting the rural organisations and the co-operative movement as a likely source of suitable members for committees of agriculture, I have not found it practicable to provide in this Bill for giving them direct representation, although I have given a great deal of thought to the matter. In view of the large number of rural organisations in the country, the varying strength of these organisations from one county to another and the varying number of members on individual committees, I do not think that a statutory formula could be worked out which could be applied equitably to all counties. I hope, however, that county councils will keep the rural organisations and the co-operative movement in mind when choosing members for committees and that this broadening of membership will lead to a more general acceptance of the agricultural advisory services throughout the country.
I believe that our system of advisory services is fundamentally sound and my aim, therefore, is to improve the system rather than to replace it or to alter it radically. I am indeed very confident that more broadly based committees of agriculture working with the Department of Agriculture as a team, and backed by the research work of An Foras Talúntais and the Universities, will in the years ahead provide us with the advisory services needed to develop our agricultural resources on sound lines in the light of changing conditions and designed to bring about a worthwhile improvement in the lot of our rural population.
I trust that the House will see fit to approve of this Bill.