§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what is the total amount of purchase money represented by agreements under the Purchase Act of 1903 up to 1st November last, with the number of purchasers and area of land covered by the agreements; what is the amount of purchase money remaining unpaid at that date; what is the number of tenant purchasers who have agreed to pay 3½, 3¾, and 4 per cent. interest, respectively, on the purchase money pending completion of the sales; what is the annual amount of the loss sustained by each of those categories of tenant purchasers as compared with the annuity of 3¼, to which their payments would be reduced if the purchase money were available; and, in case the failure to supply the purchase money should continue for five years or over, what will be the total loss to the tenant purchasers up to the time when their ownership will begin; and whether the forthcoming Bill will make any provision to remedy this injustice.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners inform me that the total amount of purchase money applied for, in the agreements lodged up to the 31st October last inclusive, in the case of direct sales was £69,595,103, the number 1230 of purchasers was 203,626, and the number of acres covered by the agreements was approximately 6,357,000. The amount of money applied for, but not advanced on that date, was £50,150,231. While the Land Commission, who collect the interest, know the rate which each purchaser has, by his purchase agreement, undertaken to pay, the agreements, as I stated to the hon. Member on the 11th instant, are not classified according to the different rates of interest. The Commissioners could not, therefore, give the numbers falling under each of the three headings mentioned in the Question without going over the whole 200,000 agreements again. I understand that the average rate of interest is about 3½ per cent.
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENI quite understand the difficulty of arriving at these figures. May we hope that in his statement Monday next the right hon. Gentleman will be able to give us some approximate of the penalty which the present breakdown involves upon the purchasing tenants?
§ MR. BIRRELLOf course, I do not admit any breakdown.
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENOnly two millions paid out of eight millions in County Cork.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe rate is going on as it always has been. There is no question of breakdown. Of course, the point the hon. member has in his mind is the difference between purchase annuity rate and the rate the tenant has to pay by way of interest upon the completion of his agreement, and I will certainly do my best to deal with that.
§ MR. LONSDALEI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will state the number of purchase agreements lodged with the Estates Commissioners, under the Irish Land Act, 1903, up to the 1st November instant; the total amount of the advances applied for; the number of purchase agreements completed at that date, with the amount of the advances made; and the amount of the bonus paid or payable in respect of these transactions.
§ MR. BIRRELLAs regards the first part of this Question I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I have just given to the Question asked by the hon. Member for Cork. The number of agreements for direct sales in respect of which advances had been made up to 31sb October last inclusive was 45,707 and the amount advanced £19,444,872. The bonus paid or payable thereon at 12 per cent. amounts to £2,285,982.
§ MR. LONSDALELeaving a balance, therefore, of about nine millions?
§ MR. BIRRELLNo, no; certainly not.