MR. C. MACVEIGH (Donegal, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state what has caused the delay on the part of the Estates Commissioners in completing the sale to the tenants on the estate of Sir Edmund Hayes, near Letterkenny, country Donegal, the evicted tenants having been reinstated, the agreements to purchase signed, and the estate lodged in 1904; is he aware that the Commissioners' inspector has been over the estate, and that the landlord and tenants are equally anxious to have the matter ended; and whether he can say when the sale will be completed; and, if so, when the vesting orders will be issued to the tenants.
§ (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The purchase agreements in this case were lodged in January, 1905. The estate has been inspected, but questions as to security and other matters have arisen in respect of some of the holdings. The Estates Commissioners are about to suggest to the owner that the advances for the portion of the estate as to which no question has arisen should be made at once, leaving the remaining cases to be dealt with subsequently as a separate estate.