§ MR. JOHN DILLON (Mayo, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the number of tenants who have been turned into caretakers by the seventh section of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887; and, whether he can give an estimate of the number of such tenants who are now in occupation of their holdings as caretakers, and outside all benefit from the Land Law Acts?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe number of notices served throughout Ireland under Section 7 of the Act of 1887, 1324 between the date of the passing of that Act and December 31, 189G, was 58,626. There are no statistics available showing the proportion of tenants so served who were restored to their holdings either as caretakers or as tenants, nor has the Government any means at its disposal of obtaining reliable information on the subject. I may add that the number of tenants, actually evicted during the ten years ended December 31, 1896, was 14,489, and it may be assumed that in the great majority of the remaining 44,137 cases in which eviction proceedings did not follow the service of notices under Section 7 settlements were arrived at between landlord and tenant, though, as already stated, I have no means of ascertaining whether in these cases the tenants were restored as caretakers or as tenants.
§ MR. DILLONasked whether, where settlements were arrived at, in all cases the tenants would be shut out of then-rights under the Land Act.
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURsaid the position of the tenant in cases of settlement depended upon the agreement between landlord and tenant.
§ MR. DENIS KILBRIDE (Galway, N.)asked whether, where settlements had been arrived at, the tenants would not become "future tenants" and deprived of the benefit of the Land Act.
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURNot necessarily. There might be an arrangement to secure the continuation of its benefits.