§ Captain REDMONDasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland (1) when the new Land Purchase Bill will be introduced in the House; how much money do the Land Commissioners estimate will be required for the purchase of the agricultural tenancies which now remain unbought under the Land Purchase Acts;
(2) how much bonus does the Government propose to give to the landlords to enable land purchase to be completed throughout Ireland; and at what rate of interest is it proposed to advance the money to the tenants under the new Land Purchase Bill?
§ Sir H. GREENWOODI would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to a question asked on this subject by the Prime Minister on Thursday last. With regard to the other matters referred to in the question, I would ask my hon. and gallant Friend to await the introduction of the Bill.
§ Captain REDMONDasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland when the Report of the Irish Land Commission from the 1st April, 1919, to 31st March, 1920, will be published; what is the entire number of rents fixed under the Land Law Acts by all methods enumerated in the Report 47W to 31st March, 1920, where the parties applied to have fair rents fixed for a first statutory term; what is the total rental dealt with; what is the aggregate judicial rent fixed in respect thereof; as the result, what is the average reduction over the entire country; what is the entire number of rents fixed to the 31st March, 1920, for a second statutory term; what is the total rental dealt with in this case; what is the reduction with regard to land purchase; what is the total amount advanced under all the Land Purchase Acts down to the 31st March, 1920; what is the total amount of purchase money represented by all the agreements made between the landlord and the tenant under the various Land Purchase Acts down to the 31st March, 1920; how much money under the Land Purchase Acts has not been sanctioned where the agreements have been entered into; what is the total amount of land purchase money represented by agreements between the 1st April, 1919, and 31st March, 1920; what is the corresponding amount for the 1st April, 1918, to the 31st March, 1919; how much per year is it proposed to finance the agreements that are still pending under the Land Purchase Acts; how much rental has been actually purchased, or agreed to be purchased, under all the Land Purchase Acts throughout Ireland up to the 31st March, 1920; how much rental still remains to be bought in order to complete land purchase throughout the whole country; how much is the total annuity payable by the tenant purchasers on foot of all the advances made to them by the Land Commission for the purchase of their holdings; and how much arrears was due by the tenant purchasers up to the 31st March, 1920?
§ Sir H. GREENWOODThe Report will be presented to Parliament on the earliest possible date. The entire number of Judicial Rents fixed to the 31st March, 1920, by the different methods provided by the Land Law Acts is as follows:—
First Statutory Term.
No. 382,975, Former Rent, £7,542,981; Judicial Rent, £5,984,354, representing a reduction of 20.7 per cent. on the Former Rent.
Second Statutory Term.
No. 144,094, First Term Rent, £2,585,031; Second Term Rent, £2,086,111, representing a reduction of 19.3 per cent. on the First Term Rent.
48WThird Statutory Term.
No. 6,032, Second Term Rent, £100,017; Third Term Rent, £90,887, representing a reduction of 9.1 per cent. on the Second Term Rent.
The total amount advanced under the Land Purchase Acts, 1870–1909, up to the 31st March, 1920, was £106,928,823, which with cash payments of £1,861,037 represents a total purchase money of £108,789,860, while in addition the estimated purchase money of lands for the sale of which proceedings had been instituted, but not completed at that date, was £15,015,022, including lands in process of purchase by the Land Commission or the Congested Districts Board.
The amount of purchase money represented by agreements between landlords and tenants where the proceedings were pending, but the advances applied for had not been sanctioned on the 31st March, 1920, amounted to £12,166,533, which figure is included in the £15,015,022 mentioned in the last paragraph. The total amount of purchase money applied for represented by agreements between landlords and tenants lodged during the year to the 31st March, 1920, was £81,200 against £46,363 for the previous year. The Estates Commissioners hope to be able to dispose of the outstanding arrears at a rate of not less than £5,000,000 a year.
The rental of the land sold under the various Land Purchase Acts is not available in all cases, and it is therefore not possible to state the total rental cleared by the operation of those Acts, neither is there any information available as to the rental of lands which have not yet come within their operation. The difficulties of the position with regard to these unsold holdings is very fully set out on pages 97–8 of the Report of the Irish Convention, paragraphs 6–8.
The land purchase annuities now existing in respect of all advances made under the Land Purchase Acts, 1870–1909, to the 31st March, 1920, now amount to £3,316,083, including the full annuity payable under the Labourers Acts. Of the amounts collectable to the last gale day the arrears at the 31st March, 1920, came to £22,489.