§ MR. O'MALLEY (Galway, Connemara)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the fact that the Congested Districts Board have declined to purchase the Berridge Estate, Connemara, on the ground that there was no agricultural land available for the enlargement of the small uneconomic holdings on this estate, he will advise the Board to reconsider the question of purchase, on the ground that the mountain lands adjoining, or in close proximity to those holdings, if given to the tenants would considerably enhance the value of those 941 holdings; and whether, in view of the character of the uneconomic holdings on this estate, the Estates Commissioners would be advised not to sanction a sale direct to the tenants, unless they were satisfied that the holdings could be enlarged and rendered economic.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) The Board have fully considered the question of purchasing this estate, but have decided not to do so for the reason stated in the Question. The mountain land referred to is already occupied by the tenants for grazing purposes. The estate has not come before the Estates Commissioners, and the are therefore unable to express an opinion upon the point raised in the concluding part of the Question.