§ MR. JOHN O'DONNELL (Mayo, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the number of acres of land purchased by the Congested Districts Board in Ireland since the 1st April, 1900; the aggregate sum of purchase money paid; the average number of years purchase given; and the counties within which the transfer of property took place.
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (MR. WYNDHAM,) DoverSince the date mentioned, the Board has purchased 5,711 acres in the counties of Donegal, Mayo, and Galway for the sum of £13,480, including landlords' and tenants' interests. In some cases the lands purchased were untenanted, in some tenanted, and in others partly tenanted; the number of years purchase cannot, therefore, be computed. In some cases the lands were subject to head rents, quit rents, and tithe rent charges, and in others they were free of all rents or charges whatsoever; and the latter, of course, commanded a higher price than the former. The Board is negotiating for the purchase of other estates comprising 13,390 acres.