§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether there were any cases of failure to recover arrears of annuities and of interest in lieu of rent in Ireland; if there were, how many were there of each class; and by whom and at what rate per case or otherwise were local solicitors paid in such cases?
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Mr. Birrell)There have been only three cases under the Act of 1903 in which arrears of annuities, amounting in all to £97 10s., have been written off as irrecoverable. No arrears of interest in lieu of rent have been so written off except in a few cases in which vendors have consented to forego them. The local solicitors employed by the Land Commission are paid the prescribed fees of court, which are subsequently recovered from the defaulter or from the sum realised on the sale of the holding.
§ Mr. DUFFYasked the Chief Secretary whether the owners of several farms in the neighbourhood of Athenry had expressed their willingness to sell; if so, could he say when the Congested Districts Board intended to purchase these lands for a general settlement in the district; whether the following, among others, had intimated their willingness to sell, namely: Mr. Herbert Clarke, Mr. Thomas O'Malley, Mr. Browne, Mrs. Honoria Monaghan, Mr. Michael Murphy, Mr. Martin M`Donagh, and the trustees of the farm of Ballydand South and Kilcornan; if so, when was it the intention of the Congested Districts Board to inspect the lands offered by the several owners and make an offer for the purchase of the same; and, having regard to the state of unrest in this district due to the unsettled state of the agrarian question, would he endeavour to expedite the purchase of these lands where the owners were willing to sell?
§ Mr. BIRRELLFour of the estates referred to have been offered to the Congested Districts Board and will be inspected as soon as practicable. The Board have no information as to the estate of Mrs. Honoria Monaghan, and the estate of Mr. Michael Murphy has not been offered to the Board. The lands of Ballydand South referred to in the question cannot be identified. The tenant's interest in part of the lands of Kilcornan was offered to the Board, but they decided not to purchase it.