§ MR. JOHN O'DONNELLTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the tenants of Lord Oranmore, at Ballindine, county Mayo, have asked the landlord to sell their holdings to them under the Land Act of 1903; whether they have placed the matter in the hands of the Congested Districts Board; that congestion of an acute nature exists in portions of this estate; is he aware that there is a considerable quantity of grazing land on it which, if divided, would enable each tenant to occupy an economic holding; whether the Congested Districts Board has entered into negotiations with the landlord; if so, what is the number of years' purchase demanded by him and offered by the Board, if any; and whether, if he persists in his refusal to sell, steps will be taken to deal with this estate on similar lines to those taken on the estate of Lord Clanricarde in county Galway.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The estate in question was offered for sale to the Congested Districts Board in January last. Particulars of the estate, however, were not obtained nor was any price mentioned on either side, because the Board were obliged to inform the owner that owing to the insufficiency of their funds for improvement works they wore unable to proceed at present with the purchase of any further tenanted estates.