§ MR. FLYNN (Cork, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates 1687 Commissioners have yet made any definite offer of purchase of the un-tenanted lands of Garryduff and Gurrane on the Fuge estate near Kilbrin, County Cork, and for the purchase of the demesne lands at Templemary, near Buttevant, with a view to the reinstatement of evicted tenants and the enlargement of uneconomic holdings, if so, with what result; and whether, in the event of the acquisition of these lands or portion thereof, the Commissioners will take all possible steps to give a preference in the occupation thereof to the families who formerly occupied and tilled them or to their representatives.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners have published in the Dublin Gazette a notice of their intention to acquire the lands of Garryduff and Gurrane compulsorily under the Evicted Tenants Act, and have had the lands i inspected with a view to making an offer for them. If acquired, the lands will be utilised to provide holdings for the classes of persons mentioned in the Act. No formal proceedings are pending before the Commissioners with regard to the demesne lands at Templemary, but the Commissioners have had an inspection made, and will intimate to the owner the price which they are prepared to advance if proceedings for sale are instituted. It is not possible to make any statement, at this stage, as regards the allotment of these lands if acquired.