§ Mr. O'DOWDasked the Chief Secretary whether the unions of Tubbercurry, Boyle (No. 2), and Sligo, in South Sligo, contain many estates the owners of which have hitherto refused to sell at any price under the Land Act of 1903; whether these estates, in almost all cases, contain large tracts of untenanted land, held either by the owners or by non-residential graziers and speculators; and whether, seeing that this division of the county is largely congested and that the matter is one of urgency, the Congested Districts Board will open negotiations at once with the owners of these estates with a view to their purchase under the Act of 1909?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI am not in a position to say whether the statements in the first and second paragraphs of the question are correct. The Congested Districts Board will do all in their power to further the purchase and sale of estates in congested districts counties.