§ Mr. ARBUTHNOTasked the Chief Secretary if he will state the amount of land now actually held by the Congested 1432W Districts Board in Ireland, giving the following particulars: date of purchase and area; whether stocked by the Board, and for what period; the reasons which have rendered it impossible to allocate this land to agricultural tenants; the area of other lands as to which purchase negotiations have been entered into by the Board; and the amount of money which will be required to finally distribute the land already acquired and to acquire and distribute the land in respect of which negotiations have been entered into?
§ Mr. BIRRELL:The area of untenanted land now held by the Congested Districts Board is 42,159 acres. These lands were purchased at various times between March, 1903, and the present date. They have been stocked mainly with animals owned by the small farmers in the neighbourhood. In cases where the number of live stock sent by the small farmers to graze on the Board's lands was not sufficient, the Board purchased as many cattle and sheep as were necessary to fully stock the lands. Under this arrangement the entire lands in the Board's hands were during the past year grazed as follows:—(a) Animals belonging to local farmers: Cattle, 7,576; horses, 556; sheep, 1,256. (b) Board's own animals: Cattle, 673; horses, 5; sheep, 85. In no case have the Board found it impossible to dispose of the untenanted land upon which they had provided holdings with the necessary buildings for migrants; but owing to the shortness of funds during the past two years they were unable to proceed with the construction of buildings on as large a scale as was necessary. In two cases in county Galway and one in county Roscommon the Board suspended their operations in connection with the erection of fences and buildings on new holdings owing to what they considered to be the unreasonable opposition of local persons to the introduction of migrants to these lands from a distance. Excepting these cases, the Board had no special trouble in disposing of untenanted land. The Board are not in a position to furnish the further information asked for in the question.