Mr. O'SHEAasked what steps have been taken by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Ireland specially for the benefit of the agricultural labourers; whether in their fruit-growing experiments they have provided for the planting of fruit trees in labourers' plots; in how many cases has this been done; and what is the total number of cases in which the planting of fruit plots has been provided for by the Department up to date?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI understand that several features of the County Agricultural Schemes are specially intended for the benefit of agricultural labourers. These include schemes for fruit and vegetable growing, poultry keeping, pig breeding, domestic economy, and prizes for cottages. The object of the fruit-growing experiments initiated some years ago by the Department at a few favourably situated centres, was to induce farmers to test the possibilities of fruit growing as a farm crop on a commercial scale. Labourers' plots would be quite unsuitable for such a purpose. The county committees, however, are empowered to purchase fruit and other trees in bulk and to sell them at cost price to labourers and other residents in their county, and the Department recommend county committees who have allocated funds for the purpose of horticultural demonstration plots to establish these plots on allotments attached to labourers' cottages. Thirty-one county committees have taken up this work, but no record is available of the number of trees planted on labourers' allotments.
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