Daniel J. Browne, and Mr. The object of this motion is to call attention to the appointments recently made in regard to the positions of lay commissioners under the Land Act, and to give the Minister an opportunity of justifying them and, if possible, reconciling these appointments with a certain statement made by him in the Seanad during the passing of the Land Bill in August of last year.
Senators will remember clearly that an amendment was moved to Section 7 of the Bill by Senator Counihan which, if it had been accepted, would have had the effect of securing that the appointments to such positions, in the first instance, would have been men who would have had experience of Land Commission work prior to the 1st June, When that amendment came up for discussion in the Seanad, the Minister in charge of the Bill made the following statement:—.
If those statements were not intended to convey the impression that it was the intention of the Minister to give effect to the purpose and principle of Senator Counihan's amendment it is difficult to know what meaning could be read into them, unless it was the object of the Minister to mislead the House as to his real intentions. It is scarcely necessary to stress the importance of these positions of lay commissioners in regard to the administration of the Act.
By sub-section 5 of Section 7 they may override the opinion of the judicial commissioner in matters both of law and fact. It was because of this, certainly, that members of both Houses argued strongly for the insertion of some provision in the Bill such as that embodied in Senator Counihan's amendment which would be a guarantee that the lay commissioners would be men whose experience would ensure impartial and equitable administration of the Act when it came into operation.
It will hardly be questioned that it is of the greatest importance to have men of experience and administrative capacity discharging the duties which the lay commissioners will be entrusted with. Will the Minister throw some light on the qualifications in this respect possessed by those who have been appointed? I do not know what the amount of his pension may be, and I would like the Minister to tell us.
