§ Mr. BOLANDasked whether he is aware that the tenants on the estate of Mr. J. F. Fuller, Cappagh, near Caherciveen, county Kerry, have presented a memorial to the Congested Districts Board requesting their good offices in bringing about the purchase of this small estate, which comprises some fifteen tenants; can he state what action has been taken in the matter; whether the landlord has consented or refused to negotiate the sale through the Board; and whether, in view of the fact that these tenants have been only once 2063 through the Land Court, regard will be had to this fact in the conduct of negotiations?
§ Mr. BIRRELLSeveral memorials have been received, and the Congested Districts Board communicated with the owner in May and July of last year, asking him whether he was prepared to sell his estate, but so far the estate has not been offered to the Board. A further communication will now be sent to him.
§ Mr. WILLIAM O'BRIENasked whether the right hon. Gentleman's attention has been drawn to a protest by the secretary to the Kerry County Council against the inconvenience to the Irish county councils, as well as the injury to land purchase, caused by the Land Commission's present habit of obliging county councils to provide for unspecified deficiencies in the repayment of land purchase annuities, which are subsequently and without difficulty collected by the Land Commission; whether, having regard to the punctuality with which land purchase annuities are being paid, the Land Commission will be instructed to arrange that in future the county councils shall not be compelled to undergo deductions for arrears until these have proved to be practically uncollectable; and will he see that the county councils are furnished with full particulars of any arrears alleged to be irrecoverable?
§ Mr. BIRRELLMy attention has been drawn to the letter of the secretary to the Kerry County Council referred to. It is a mistake to ascribe to the Land Commission the deductions, from local taxation grants payable to county councils, of arrears of land purchase annuities. The deductions are made pursuant to statute and to the Treasury Rules and Regulations made thereunder, and the duty of the Land Commission in the matter is confined to the certifying of the arrears due at the prescribed date. The change suggested in the second part of the question would be quite impracticable. The dividend and sinking fund payments in respect of stock issued in connection with land purchase must be made with absolute punctuality, and any temporary arrears of annuities have to be provided, for the time being, out of the Guarantee Fund, which means that they are temporarily deducted from the grants to the counties concerned. It is a mistake to speak of these arrears as irrecoverable. The annuities 2064 are paid on the whole with marked punctuality, but there is naturally a floating balance of temporary arrears, and according as these are paid the county concerned is refunded. As I have frequently stated, it would be impracticable, and would serve no useful purpose, to furnish a list of defaulters at any given date. Arrears are paid by defaulters from day to day, and by the time a list for any given date could be prepared many would have already paid, and the list would be out of date.
§ Mr. WILLIAM O'BRIENWhat is the reason for refusing this information to the bodies that are locally responsible? Could there not be a better means of bringing legitimate public opinion to bear in order to hurry them up with the papers?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThis question has several times been considered, but it has always been thought objectionable to make county councils the debt collectors for these outstanding arrears. On the whole, it is thought, considering how well they are paid—it is true that sometimes a little time elapses—it would be undesirable to turn the whole weight of public opinion.
§ Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYIs it not a fact that the tenants sometimes take a month or two to pay up their annuities and what objection is there to that?
§ Mr. BIRRELLIt is always an objectionable thing for anybody to be in arrear.