§ 62. Mr. THORNE (for Mr. McENTEE)asked the Secretary of State for Dominon Affairs what action is being taken in the Irish Free State and in Northern Ireland to build houses for Irish ex-service men, under the Irish Land (Provision for Soldiers and Sailors) Act, and in fulfilment of the pledges made on behalf of the British Government by the late Sir H. McLaughlin, director-general of recruiting in Ireland; and whether any inquiry has been held into the working of the Irish Sailors' and Soldiers' Land Trust?
The SECRETARY of STATE for DOMINION AFFAIRS (Mr. J. H. Thomas)As the reply is necessarily a somewhat long one I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the reply:
§ Between 1919 and 1923, £1,900,000 was voted by Parliament and spent on various schemes for the provision of land and the erection of cottages in Ireland for ex-service men under the provisions of the Act to which the hon. Member refers. On the establishment of the Irish Free State the Irish Sailors and Soldiers Land Trust was set up to carry on the work, and in 1925 a Parliamentary Grant-in-Aid of £1,300,000 over and above the £1,900,000 already granted was made available to the Trust in full and final settlement of all claims on the United Kingdom taxpayer in respect of the pledges to which the hon. Member refers.
§ Building operations are not yet complete, but at the end of last March the total number of cottages built and occupied in the whole of Ireland was 1067 3,646 and on the completion of the capital expenditure a year or two hence it is expected that this figure will be about 3,900. The reports of the Trustees, which they are required to submit annually, and which are published by the Stationery Office, afford full information as to the working of the Trust, and His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom are entirely satisfied as to the manner in which the Trustees are carrying out their duties.