§ 19. Mr. O'MALLEYasked whether the Clements estate, Maam, Connemara, which appears to have been valued last February, has yet been purchased by the Congested Districts Board; if not, whether the failure to purchase is due to the action of the landlord or to any action on the part of the tenants; and whether the Berridge estate, Connemara, is yet purchased?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Congested Districts Board will shortly make an offer for the purchase of the Clements estate. Negotiations are still proceeding for the purchase of the Berridge state.
§ 22. Mr. JOHN ROCHEasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can state the date upon which the Act passed in 1908 for the purpose of compulsorily acquiring by the Estates Commissioners the lands from which tenants had been evicted in Ireland became law, and also the date upon which the Court of Appeal held that the Act failed to convey the necessary power; whether he can state the date upon which the Act of 1909 became law, conferring upon the Congested Districts Board the power to compulsorily acquire estates in Ireland, such as the Clanricarde estate; what practical steps the Board has since taken towards putting the Act into force upon that estate; whether he is aware that although for many years it has not been more difficult for farmers to make money than this, the majority of the tenants, particularly in the poorer districts of the estate, have been served with processes for payment of unreduced rents; and whether he can hold out any hope of relief in the near future to those people?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Evicted Tenants (Ireland) Act, 1908, became law on the 1st August of that year, and the decision of the Court of Appeal—the purport of which is not correctly stated in the question— 2352 was given in June, 1909. The Irish Land Act, 1909, became law on 3rd December of that year, and the provisions conferring compulsory powers on the Congested Districts Board came into force on 10th January, 1910. Negotiations were opened with Lord Clanricarde's agent for the purchase of the estate in March, 1910, and these negotiations finally fell through in 1911. A valuation and survey of the estate was then completed, and a first offer made by the Board in December, 1911, and a final offer in January, 1912. Writs for injunction to restrain the Congested Districts Board and the Estates Commissioners from acquiring the estate were served by the landlord, and no further action can be taken pending the result of these proceedings.
§ Mr. ROCHECan the right hon. Gentleman give an approximate date when he thinks this estate will be purchased? It is a very important question, because the evicted tenants who are expecting to be reinstated in the homes from which they were thrown out a quarter of a century ago have been practically on the roadside ever since.
§ Mr. BIRRELLI am afraid we are all in the grip of the Law Courts, and until the question pending between Lord Clanricarde and the Congested Districts Board and the Estates Commissioners has been determined by the Court, which I hope will be very soon, the matter cannot be further proceeded with.
§ Mr. MOOREMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it is the intention of the Government to extend the Evicted Tenants Act in view of the fact that it expires at the end of this year?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo, Sir. The hon. Gentleman knows that it has not been included in the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill.
§ Mr. ROCHEIs it not a fact that more than half a year was spent in negotiation with Lord Clanricarde in direct opposition to the advice of those who knew the circumstances and were acquainted with his method of dealing with his tenantry?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Congested Districts Board have to proceed according to recognised methods. One of those methods is that they negotiate first.
§ 23. Mr. PATRICK WHITEasked whether the Dyas estate, situate at Spandaw, near Kells, county Meath, was offered for sale to the Estates Commissioners; and, if not, whether, having regard to the local unrest caused by some events in connection with the working of the property, the Commissioners will approach the owner, with the view of acquiring it to meet the urgent needs of small holders in its vicinity?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners had a preliminary inspection made of some 460 acres of untenanted land situated at Rathcore on this estate and communicated to the owner their preliminary estimate of the amount which they would be prepared to advance for the purchase of these lands if formal proceedings for their sale were instituted by the owner. The owner was not willing to sell at the estimated price and the Commissioners, after inquiry and consideration, decided to take no further action in the matter.
§ 24. Mr. PATRICK WHITEasked whether, notwithstanding the numerous applications from local and deserving occupiers of uneconomic holdings, the Footestown property, near Ardee, county Meath, is promised to a lady who is to be brought from a distance; and, if so, whether, having regard to the failure which has attended previous efforts to transplant people from a distance to the county of Meath amongst residents with whom they are alien in sentiment, notably the case of Cumming, who was brought to Nobber in opposition to the majority of the local population, the Commissioners will discontinue the practice?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners have agreed to allot portion of the lands to a tenant on the Crookenden and Casey Estate, county Cavan, who is surrendering a large holding on this estate which is urgently required for the relief of congestion in that district. The reply to the second part of the question is in the negative.
§ 27. Mr. JOHN WALSHasked the cause? of the delay in the vesting orders being granted to the tenants on the Dennis estate of the townlands of Berose, Upper Lisaroush, and Rushfield, in the parish of Morraugh, in the West Riding, county Cork, the purchase agreements being lodged as far back as June, 1906?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThis estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903, and is not yet in priority for payment. Having regard to its position on the principal register of direct sales (all cash), and the claims of other estates, the Commissioners are not at present in a position to say when it will be reached.
§ 31. Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he can say whether the Estates Commissioners have yet purchased the untenanted lands of Ballynorth, near Askeaton, in the county of Limerick, on the O'Grady property; and, if so, will he say when they will be apportioned among the deserving applicants in the district?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe owner has accepted the Estates Commissioners' estimated price for these lands, and has instituted formal proceedings for their sale to the Commissioners, who hope to be in a position to deal with them at an early date.
§ Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYIs the right hon. Gentleman in a position to name the date?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI would rather not name a date.
§ 32. Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he can Bay whether the Estates Commissioners have yet acquired any untenanted land for John Dorgan, of Castletown Conyers, Ballingarry, county Limerick, in lieu of the farm from which he was evicted; and whether, as he has been out of his holding for a considerable number of years, they will make provision for him without further delay?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners have noted Dorgan's name for consideration in the allotment of untenanted land acquired by them, but they are not yet in a position to provide him with a holding.
§ Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that the Estates Commissioners have had this matter before them for the last seven or eight years, and whether they will get land at an early date for this evicted tenant?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI am sure they will do their best.
§ 33. Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he can state whether the Estates Commissioners have received a petition from the occupiers of houses in the village of Mount Collins, in the county of Limerick, who are tenants On the Mahony state there, with the object of having them included in the sale of the estate; and what action do they propose to take in the matter?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners cannot from the particulars given identify the petition referred to in the question.
§ 34. Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he can say whether the Estates Commissioners have taken any steps recently to acquire the untenanted lands at Ballylin and Glenville, county Limerick, on the Massey estate; and, if so, whether there is any likelihood of a purchase of these lands in the near future to relieve the congestion in the district?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners have communicated to the owner their estimate of the price which they would be prepared to advance for these lands if formal proceedings for sale are instituted under the Land Purchase Acts. The owner, who is understood to be abroad, has not instituted such proceedings up to the present.
§ 35. Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether as it is a considerable time since the tenants on the Mahony estate, at Mount Collins, Abbeyfeale, in the county of Limerick, signed their agreements to purchase, he can say what is the cause of the delay on the part of the Estates Commissioners in carrying out the report of their inspector with regard to the making of improvements on the estate, which has been scheduled as a congested one; and whether, as there is a scarcity of employment among the small farmers and labourers in the district at the present time, the Commissioners will consider the advisability of carrying out the suggested improvements without further delay?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners have considered the report of their inspector, but are not yet in a position to say whether his recommendations can be carried out.
§ Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYCan the right hon. Gentleman say when the Estates 2356 Commissioners will carry out the Report of their inspector?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo, I really cannot. I am sure that they will act as quickly as they can.
§ 42. Mr. O'DONNELLasked the Chief Secretary whether, seeing that the parish priest and public men are agreed that the late Michael O'Sullivan, Dooks, county Kerry, was an evicted tenant whose representatives are entitled to consideration and, further, seeing that all the tenants on the estate who would benefit by the subdivision of his holding refuse to touch it, saying that Mr. O'Sullivan's representatives are entitled to it, he will say on what grounds the Estates Commissioners refuse to deal with this case,- and will he state whether a second inspector was sent because the first inspector had reported in favour of the reinstatement of Mr. O'Sullivan?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his question on this subject on Tuesday last, to which I have nothing to add.