§ 10. Colonel YATEasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, during the last eighteen months, only 200 acres of land have been allotted by the Congested Districts Board of Ireland to persons who had either themselves served in the Army or Navy or who have or had sons so serving, and, similarly, only 850 acres have been so allotted by the Estates Commissioners, while, on the contrary, 90,000 acres have been allotted by the Congested Districts Board and 35,000 acres have been allotted by the Estates Commissioners to persons who have not themselves served or have had sons so serving; and whether he will now give an estimate of the amount of land allotted, respectively, during the first two and a half years of the War?
§ Mr. SHORTTAs regard the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given on this subject on the 20th ultimo. The Estates Commissioners and the Congested Districts Board distributed respectively during the first two and a half years of the War about 18,000 and 70,000 acres of untenanted land. The Estates Commissioners did not during this period take the fact of service in the War as a consideration in the allotment of land, and consequently are unable to state how much of the 18,000 acres was allotted to persons who served or had members of their families serving in the War. Approximately 125 acres were allotted to such persons during this period by the Congested Districts Board.