§ MR. GINNELL (Westmeath, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, seeing that it is the practice of the Local Government Board to prevent the acquisition of tracts of untenanted land and deny to labourers the benefit of Section 8 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1906, will he require the Board to inform district councils that labourers are not legally excluded from the benefit of that section.
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. Birrell, Bristol, N.)I am informed that there is no ground whatever for the statement that it is the practice of the Local Government Board to prevent the acquisition of tracts of untenanted land. No case under Section 8 of the Act has yet arisen. Myright hon. friend the Attorney-General for Ireland has already fully informed the hon. Member that Section 8 confers no power whatever to acquire lands. It merely enables a rural district council to dispose of superfluous lands which cannot be used for the purpose of providing labourers with cottages and plots.