§ MR. O'MARA (Kilkenny, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether an application has been made by Mr. Walsh, the owner of an estate at Castletown, county Kilkenny, to the Estates Commissioners, for the purchase of the estate from him; if so, when; whether a large proportion of this estate consists of evicted holdings in his possession; and whether, with a view to the restoration of these tenants, the Estates Commissioners will direct an inspector to visit the lands without delay.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Estates Commissioners inform me that on January 22nd last Mr. Peter Walsh offered his estate for sale to the Estates Commissioners under Section 6 of the Act of 1903. The property comprises 165 acres in the occupation of tenants, as well as 129 acres of untenanted land which Mr. Walsh wishes to repurchase. The Commissioners have received applications from five evicted tenants for reinstatement in their former holdings on this estate. The case will shortly come before the Commissioners for their directions as to an inspection of the property.