§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have in contemplation any scheme for the relief of the nineteen congested tenants on Captain Smyth's Coole estate, Westmeath, now being excluded from the sale on account of the smallness of their holdings; what amount of untenanted and non-residential land there is in the rural district of Coole; and what steps the Commissioners are taking to acquire any of it for relief of congestion in that district?
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Mr. Birrell)The hon. Member presumably refers to certain holdings in the village of Coole which the tenants have agreed to purchase from the landlord in connection with the sale of his estate under the Land Purchase Acts. The Estates Commissioners have informed the landlord of the sums they are prepared to advance on the security of the sites of the premises, and as the tenants are apparently not prepared to lodge in cash the difference between the agreed prices and the sums which the Commissioners are prepared to advance they will be unable to include their holdings in the sale. The Commissioners' statistics are not kept by rural districts, and they are unable to give the information asked for in the second paragraph of the question.
§ Mr. GINNELLMay I ask if they are making any attempt to find land for those people in the neighbourhood?
§ Mr. BIRRELLYes, if they could find the land they would.