§ 67. Mr. DORISasked whether two years, have elapsed since Mrs. M'Donnell refused to negotiate with the Congested Districts Board as to the sale of her estate in Achill, county Mayo; and whether, having regard to the congestion on the estate, the condition of the tenants, and the insanitary state of their hovels, the Board will consider the advisability of taking steps in this case under the compulsory purchase clauses of the Land Act of 1909?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Congested Districts Board have decided not to take any steps to acquire this estate compulsorily pending the result of proceedings which have been instituted for the compulsory purchase of other estates.
§ 68. Mr. O'DOWDasked whether the Percival estate, situate in the union of Tubbercurry, county Sligo, has yet been purchased by the Congested Districts. Board?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Congested Districts Board have not yet made an offer for the purchase of this estate. They will consider the question of doing so as soon as practicable, having regard to the engagements of their staff and to the priority of the case.
§ 69. Mr. DORISasked what reply the trustees of the Achill Mission Estate, county Mayo, have given to the invitation of the Congested Districts Board to sell the estate under the Land Purchase Act of 1909; and whether, having regard to the congestion of the district and the badly housed condition of the tenants, immediate steps will be taken to secure for these people the relief which the Act was intended to afford them?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Congested Districts Board have been in correspondence with the trustees of this estate, but they have not yet been informed whether the trustees are willing to negotiate for a sale of the property through them. The Board do not intend to take any steps to acquire compulsorily this estate pending the result of the proceedings instituted for the compulsory purchase of other estates.