I move that Deputy White take the Chair.

Agreed.

Deputy White took the Chair.

Question—That Section 1 stand part of the Bill (Deputy O'Connell)—put and agreed to.

Question—That Section 2 stand part of the Bill (Deputy O'Connell)—put and agreed to.

Question—That Section 3 stand part of the Bill (Deputy O'Connell)—put and agreed to.

Title proposed (Deputy Bourke).

I was wondering whether there should not be an additional clause introduced into the Bill. You have at present drainage schemes to which the Local Government Department and the County Council contribute two-thirds of the cost, the people concerned contributing the remaining one-third. The engineers take a level of the land and a certain valuation is arrived at. There are tributaries going into this river, and the people living along these tributaries benefit more than the people directly concerned, although they are not regarded as concerned directly at all.

How can you overcome that difficulty?

I am thinking of the trouble in regard to the River Shevin. It is settled that that be done by the County Council, and it is not going to be done because the people will not sign. There is the question of callow meadow. That requires a certain number of floods in the year. If the river is drained, that land will not get these floods. The more floods the better the meadow is going to be.

Is there a big area of that type of land?

There is. The people who will benefit in that case are the people who live along the little drains, and those drains are not touched at all.

I think that has nothing to do with this Bill. This Bill is only for the purpose of extending the provisions of the Arterial Drainage Act to County Boroughs. Deputy Killilea wants to amend the original Act. Deputy Killilea could put down a question and find out how the matter stands.

Deputy Killilea's point is not in order at present.

Will it be mandatory on one Council or the other in this case to agree to the scheme? Take, for instance, the Waterford Corporation. Will it be mandatory on Waterford Corporation to co-operate in this particular work?

I do not think so, but you must recollect that they had already gone on with this scheme. The surveyors were already down and took some of the levels.

Is it inside the city area?

Some of it. There are 50 acres inside and about 300 outside.

I do not know if the County Council will agree. When I was on the Council, the majority of them turned down the scheme.

There may be a different complexion on matters now. They have the machinery, and it is in their own hands whether they go ahead or not. It will not be mandatory upon them.

That finishes the consideration of the Bill by the Special Committee. It is now necessary to report to the Dáil. I have prepared the following Draft Report:—

The Special Committee has gone through the Bill and has agreed to report the same without amendment.

I move that the Chairman's Draft Report be adopted.