CONGESTED DISTRICTS BOARD (IRELAND) BILL. (Hansard, 27 July 1899)

§ THE EARL OF DENBIGH

My Lords, the Bill which I have to ask your Lordships to read a second time is a short one, and one which has not met with any opposition in the other House. It is in the nature of a Departmental Bill for the purpose of remedying certain defects which have been made apparent in the operations of the Congested Districts Board, which has already done so much good in Ireland. Your Lordships will remember that that Board was to a certain extent an experiment, and, in the course of the years during which it has been operating, certain difficulties have arisen which this Bill is intended to remove. The first clause provides that an offer for the purchase of an estate by the Board shall be considered before the estate is offered to the tenants. Clauses 440 2, 3, and 4 deal with matters of detail, such as provision for redemption of superior interests in case of purchase of land by the Congested Districts Board and limit of advance. Clause 5 makes a permanent provision of £25,000 a year for the expenses of the Board. The Chief Secretary in the other House pointed out that the real addition to the income of the Congested Districts Board which was proposed by this Bill was about £18,000 or £19,000. I beg to move the Second Reading of the Bill.