§ MR. JOHN REDMOND (Waterford)—On behalf of the hon. Member for East Mayo, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the funds at the disposal of the Congested Districts Board for the improvement of estates and division of untenanted land in their possession will be exhausted on 31st March next; and, if so, what steps the Government propose to take to enable the Board to continue their work during the coming financial year.
§ The following Questions on the same subject also appeared on the Paper:—
§ MR. DILLONTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been directed to the fact that the Congested Districts Board has announced that it is not in a position to purchase any more estates: whether this refusal to purchase applies to several most suitable estates which have been offered to the Board and which had been already inspected for purchase; whether his attention has been drawn to the very serious situation which has arisen on these estates from the disappointment of the confident hopes which had been aroused in the tenants of the above-mentioned estates; whether he can state what is the cause of this stoppage in the work of the Congested Districts Board; and what steps the Government propose to take to remedy the serious situation to which it has given rise.
§ MR. DILLONTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Congested Districts Board have decided not to make any parish grants during the coming financial year; if so, on what grounds the Board arrived at this decision; and whether his attention has been drawn to the evidence as to the working of the parish grant system published by the Dudley Commission.
§ MR. DILLONTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been 687 drawn to the fact that the estates purchased by the Congested Districts Board were, in 1904–1905, £649,544, in 1905–1906 £346,706, and in 1906–1907, £108,861; whether this decrease in the operations of the Board has been due to pressure from the Treasury, and not to want of estates offered for sale to the Board; and whether the Treasury has any power to prohibit the Congested Districts Board from purchasing estates offered to them.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe funds of the Congested Districts Board available in any one year for the general work of the Board are derived from, two sources. First, from public moneys, there is a fixed income of £86,250. Secondly, receipts accrue in the course of the operations carried on by the Board under the wide powers conferred upon it. The principal heads of these receipts are—rent and other receipts on account of estates held by the Board, cash received for the sale of estates bought before 1903, and cash received as enhanced price of resale of estates bought under the Act of 1903. They are also allowed to borrow from the Board of Works to the amount of two-thirds of expenditure on improvements within certain definite categories. The aggregate funds of the Board thus accruing in the year provide the income available for expenditure on administration, technical instruction, grants to parish committees, fisheries, industries, piers, roads etc., in the congested districts; and for expenses of improving estates, the payment of interest to vendors of land, the payment of interest to the Land Commission on money advanced for purchase of estates, the payment of interest on, and the repayment of capital of, borrowings from the Board of Works. In the current year it was anticipated that a sum of £158,000 would be realised by the re-sale of estates, but as a matter of fact not more than £76,500 will be so realised. The Board were thus faced with the alternatives of suspending the improvement works on their estates with a view to keeping their expenditure within their actual income, or of asking for a temporary loan to carry on the works to the end of the financial year. The latter course has been adopted. 688 Having regard to their other obligations, the Board consider that a comparatively small amount of their present income is applicable to meet the net losses which are incurred upon the work of improving estates for resale to the tenants. It is necessary, therefore, unless the fixed income of the Board is increased, to restrict within narrow limits the amount of land which the Board buy, since every estate bought by the Board must ultimately involve a charge upon its income for the irrecoverable cost of improving the land for resale. The facts as to the value of the estates purchased in the three years-referred to are as stated by the hon. Member. The Congested Districts Board have, since the passing of the Act of 1903, been anxious to buy all estates for which they could arrange terms of purchase, and grass lands suitable for enlarging congested holdings, and have more than once asked for an increase of their income in order to carry out improvement works. There has been correspondence on this subject since August, 1905. Pending the Report of the Royal Commission on Congestion His Majesty's Government consider it impossible to introduce legislation providing for an increase in the Board s income which is limited by statute. The Treasury have therefore strongly advised the Board to purchase only so far as their means enable them to execute improvements, but this advice does not apply to the purchase of certain grass lands for which the Board have made offers. The Treasury, it must be observed, do not claim any right to place-restrictions upon any particular operation of the Board. But the duty is imposed by statute upon the Board of submitting their estimates to the Treasury, and the Treasury obviously could not approve of such estimates if they showed an excess of expenditure over the income available. Pending the consideration of the Report on the whole question of congestion, which I earnestly hope will be issued by the Royal Commission before, or, at the latest, shortly after, Easter, the Government think that it is essential that the Congested Districts Board should be extremely cautious in the purchase of estates. The Board's income will not 689 enable them to carry out in the coming year any large schemes for improvements of tenanted estates, or for dividing untenanted land; and, with a view to making as rapid progress as possible in improving for resale estates already purchased, or to be purchased, the expenditure on other heads has been restricted within narrow limits. It is for this reason that they have announced the suspension of the Parish Committee Grants in the coming financial year. They do this with great regret.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDasked with regard to the first question if he was to understand that the funds at the disposal of the Congested Districts Board, even including the loan which had been obtained, for the improvement of estates and the division of untenanted land, would be exhausted at the end of this month, and whether this meant the stoppage of all improvement works and of the employment in these districts, and whether the Government realised the seriousness of the position which would arise?
§ MR. BIRRELLsaid it did not mean that the Board would be obliged to stop work altogether, but it did mean that the Congested Districts Board would be obliged to stop the work of improvement at this time of the year. There would be considerable restrictions and limitations in the amount of the work.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDasked whether the Board had not entered into provisional agreements for the purchase recently of certain estates, and whether now, in consequence of restrictions on the amount of money available, and after the inspection of these estates, the Commissioners had informed the tenants, who had been led to believe that the estates would be acquired, that the purchase could not go on? Did the Government realise the serious situation that was likely to arise in respect of these estates on account of the disappointed hopes of the people?
§ MR. BIRRELLsaid it was no doubt the fact that the Board had entered into preliminary investigations, going to the expense of sending down their inspectors 690 to look at the land, and thereby creating a hope that immediate purchase was likely to ensue. But he was afraid that, while no actual restriction was placed on the Board in respect of the purchase of the estates, they would have to consider low far they were justified in entering upon the purchase of the land when they had not the income to make the necessary improvement works which, after all, were the sole object of the purchase.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDI am sorry to press the right hon. Gentleman, but is it not the fact that the Board have provisionally agreed to purchase certain estates and in consequence of the restrictions imposed by the Treasury the purchase cannot go on? What does the right hon. Gentleman propose to do to obviate the extremely critical situation that may consequently arise?
§ MR. BIRRELLI am afraid it is an undoubted fact that the Board will not be able to proceed with the purchase of a considerable number of estates, though they hoped to be able to do so. I do not say that none of the transactions will be proceeded with, but that a considerable number of these estates cannot be purchased.
§ MR. JOHN REDMOND,in view of the right hon. Gentleman's suggestion that the difficulty might be got over by legislation, as an outcome of the Report of Lord Dudley's Commission, pressed the right hon. Gentleman to induce the Treasury to make temporary provision so as to prevent a deadlock and a critical situation arising in the districts.
§ MR. BIRRELLWe are really in the position of having a statutory income, and of being obliged, if the Treasury put us to it, to confine our efforts within that, income.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDI beg to give notice that I shall take an early opportunity of pressing on the Government the necessity of providing an occasion to discuss this matter, which is one of the most vital importance.
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIEN (Cork)asked when the Dudley Commission's Report might be expected.
§ MR. BIRRELLIt is a matter of great regret to me that the issue of this Report has been so long delayed. If it had been presented some months ago a great many difficulties would have been removed. I shall endeavour to accelerate the Report as much as possible—even by twenty-four hours.
§ MR. MOORE (Armagh, N.)Will this Motion relating to the urgency of providing funds for the Congested Districts Board take precedence of the Home Rule Motion?
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDNo, it will not.
§ MR. BOLAND (Kerry, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the circular issued by the Congested Districts Board on 22nd February, by which parish committees are requested to note that, so far as can be foreseen at present, the Board, owing to the state of their funds, will not be in a position to continue the parish committee scheme next year; whether the year referred to in this circular is the next financial year or the year 1909; and whether, in view of the fact that about 160 parish committees have been formed, of which fourteen are at work in county Kerry, he can state what steps he now proposes to take in order to prevent the complete cessation of the valuable work done by these parish committees.
§ MR. BIRRELLI have already dealt with this matter in my reply to the questions put by the hon. Member for East Mayo. The suspension of grants to parish committees will take effect from the beginning of the next financial year, on 1st April.