THE EARL OF BELMORE, in rising to ask the Lord Privy Seal, with reference to the reply to a recent question as to the progress that is being made with the revision of the Ordnance Survey in Ireland, whether Her Majesty's Government will cause steps to be taken to hasten the completion of the survey on the 25in. scale, said: My Lords, about six weeks ago I asked my noble Friend below me a question about the progress that was being made with the Ordnance Survey in Ireland, and the answer I got from him was in effect that considerable progress had been made with two of the counties. One of those counties was Galway, a large county, and the other was Roscommon. Now, as there are 32 counties in Ireland, it stands to reason that progress at the rate of parts of two counties in a year is not very rapid, and that to complete the survey of Ireland on the 25in. scale, would at that rate take something like 20 years 741 at least, This is a matter or very pressing importance, because we have now in full swing a system of land purchase by small occupiers, and we are likely to require the maps very shortly in view of the system of local registration and legal record of title under a Bill introduced in the other House. I have thought it well, therefore, to bring the matter again before Her Majesty's Government, and to ask whether it is possible in any way to hasten the completion of the survey on the 25in. scale.
THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (Viscount CRANBKOOK)My Lords, in the absence of my noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal, I beg to state that steps have already been taken to hasten the progress of the 25in. survey of Ireland by the creation of a new and additional Survey Division, and some of the surveyors of this division are already at work. To show the progress that has been made, I may state that the provision in the Estimates for revising the Irish survey was, in 1889–90 £15,750, in 1890–91£25,200, and for this year 1891–92 it is £39,950.