§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the legal and official status of townlands; and what steps have been taken by district councils to preserve the identity of townlands.
§ Mr. CarterTownlands have their origin in ancient Irish history and are the smallest territorial units in Ireland. Early nineteenth century legislation made provision for the marking of townlands on maps of Ireland and this practice is continued by the Boundary Survey (Ireland) Act 1854.
Townlands have been used to describe areas of land in various enactments, including the order made under the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 which describes the boundaries of land comprising the wards of district councils by reference to townlands.
Several district councils have indicated that they would prefer to retain addresses by reference to townlands in rural areas instead of introducing Post Office postal codes.