I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
Private Business. - Local Government Provisional Order Confirmation Bill, 1966—Second and Subsequent Stages.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
The purpose of the Bill is to give effect to the County Borough of Waterford (Extension of Boundary) Provisional Order, 1966. The order provides for the extension of the Waterford city boundary to take in an area of the County Waterford comprising some 520 acres. The order is the result of a petition by the Waterford Corporation under section 36 of the Waterford City Management Act, 1939. The petition was the subject of a local inquiry on 1st December, 1965, at which both the county council and the corporation were represented. There were no objections to the extension at the public hearing. The proposed extension had already been agreed on between the corporation and county council.
The area which would be added to the city under the proposal includes the townlands of Logloss, Rathfadden, Clearboy, Ticor, Lisduggan Big and Pastimeknock and part of the townlands of Ballynaneashagh and Kilbarry. The corporation already own a considerable amount of land in this area amounting to more than a third of the total acreage proposed to be taken in. If my rendering of the place names should be unintelligible to those who know them, I hope they will excuse me. It is the first time I have come across them.
The present city is closely built-up and the necessity for further space is apparent. The immediate land requirements are mainly for housing—corporation housing and private housing —and for industrial development. Provision must be made, too, for schools, churches, a cemetery extension and other essentials of a large and expanding urban community. Provision must be made for rehousing from insanitary houses and overcrowded conditions in central areas as well as for new housing needs arising from population and employment growth.
The Government decision that Waterford is to be a development centre with an industrial estate means that considerable economic and social expansion must be envisaged and provided for. The boundary extension will facilitate such provision.
Apart from minor extensions in 1944 and 1955 the boundary of Waterford City has remained unchanged since 1896. The 1955 extension consisted of taking into the city three areas on which the corporation had erected houses due to the non-availability of building sites within the city itself.
As I mentioned the Waterford County Council have accepted the need for the proposed extension. Agreement has been reached between the city and county authorities on all aspects of the matter, including the compensation to be paid to the county council in respect of the added burden on the county rates to which the extension would give rise. The extent of the added rates burden in the county will be limited due to the fact that the land being taken into the city is mostly undeveloped. The agreement provides for payment of £19,000 to the county council as a financial settlement and has been ratified by the two local authorities. The intention is that rates on property brought into the city by the boundary extension will not be raised to the higher level of the city rate immediately. Article 13 and the Second Schedule to the Provisional Order provide that for these properties the gap between the level of the county and city rates will be bridged gradually by annual stages over a period of six years.
Agricultural land in the added areas will cease to attract the agricultural grant following the boundary extension. A corresponding amount of the grant will, however, be paid over to the corporation and, in turn, the proportion of the valuation of agricultural land in the added areas to be assessed will be on 7/10ths as in the case of all agricultural land taken into the city. In addition to this relief the procedure I have just referred to in regard to the easing of rates by means of differential rating on properties in the added areas will apply to agricultural land also.
Finally, the order includes a number of other consequential provisions on the usual lines such as the preparation of official maps of the extended city area, continuation in effect of county council resolutions and orders where appropriate, arrangements in regard to registers of electors, employment and hours of trading orders, the adjustment of the agricultural grant and a saving from disqualification for county council members in the added area pending the forthcoming local government elections.
The corporation wishes to have the boundary extension made effective from the 1st April, 1966, and it is hoped that it will be possible to do this.
I suppose it is inevitable, with the increase in population, that the boundaries of some cities will have to be extended from time to time. I am glad that the Minister is able to tell the House, in this particular case, unlike the extension to the Cork city boundary recently, that there is no dispute whatever apparently. I am glad to know that the local authorities concerned have agreed to the demarcation of the boundaries and to whatever financial adjustments that have to be made.
The people in Waterford are more amenable.
That may be so. There are a couple of matters that arise on the order which, to me, seems to be in the same form as the Provisional Order in the case of the Cork city boundary. The first thing—perhaps the Minister might be able to deal with it in his reply—is the position in regard to valuation. As I understand it, the city of Waterford was revalued some years ago at a higher valuation than other towns. I am wondering how that affects the position in regard to the land being taken in. That, presumably, would be at a lower valuation. I suppose it is fair enough that there should be an abatement in respect of agricultural land taken in but I am wondering whether or not the fact that there are two different types of valuation in operation will affect the people who are being taken into the city boundary.
The other matter to which the Minister refers is the Register of Electors. He has said, I think, that it is hoped to have this done in time for the forthcoming local elections. On that, perhaps the Minister might indicate, firstly, how forthcoming the local elections are and, secondly, whether or not the register will, in fact, be completed in time. What problem is associated with the preparation of the electors' register, or will the part which relates to the land to be taken in be physically separated from the county register and reprinted or, for the moment, just be taken in and left as it is? What I am trying to get at is this. I should imagine that when Waterford Corporation hold their elections they will have their own register relating to the corporation area. I am wondering what machinery will be invoked for the purpose of getting the register which relates to the county area joined on to the corporation register, so that there will be no doubt as to who is within the corporation area for the purposes of elections.
A final point arises on the order. It seems reasonable to provide that the higher valuation will not be charged to people who are in the county area and that there will be an abatement in the first five years but I do not understand, and perhaps the Minister might clarify, what is meant in paragraphs (4) and (5) of Article 13 as to how this abatement will work. It seems in paragraph (4) of Article 13 that all classes of hereditaments are included and then there seems to be an exception made in respect of paragraph (5). Frankly, I do not quite follow what is intended by these paragraphs and the Minister might be able to deal with them. Apart from those observations I hope the Bill will have a speedy passage.
The first point raised by Senator O'Quigley is this question of land valuation and what is the situation in regard to the land and property which comes into the new area. It is probably fortunate in a way that a great deal of this extension is land which has not yet been developed so that, by and large, we are dealing with land in the transfer. In so far as the valuation of the land, either within or without the boundary now or in the future, is concerned, that land valuation does not change. What does change is the actual rate in the £ as between the two areas. In so far as the land valuation and the rates to be struck are concerned, there is quite a considerable difference in rate in the £ at the moment between the two areas, which it is proposed to put on in stages over a six-year period rather than that there should be a change from one rate to the other immediately. In addition to that in so far as the land is concerned, moneys paid to the corporation will have regard to the new additional lands brought in and, as a result, the amount to be paid by way of rates will be assessed on seven-tenths of the valuation of that land, as is the case of all land in the city as of now.
In so far as the compilation of the registers or their effectiveness is concerned, if this goes through, then the persons resident within the new boundary will, in all respects, be urban electors and will so be designated in the register in whatever way it may be necessary to put it together or to revise it in so far as its use at elections is concerned. I do not think we need anticipate any problems in regard to that. The answer to Senator O'Quigley's question is that from the passage of this Bill by both Houses those within the new boundary, as designated, will be urban electors.
With regard to the other matters already raised, the Second Schedule suggests that the matters dealt with there are more clear than in section 13, which Senator O'Quigley mentioned. I suggest that the Second Schedule does set out fairly clearly the matters Senator O'Quigley has been raising on that particular aspect.
Question put and agreed to.
Agreed to take remaining Stages to-day.
Bill put through Committee, reported without amendment, received for final consideration and passed.