§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary (1) whether a Member of Parliament, on behalf of his constituents, will be allowed to search the minutes of the Estates Commissioners for estates in his 1957W constituency for which public money has been advanced by a majority decision on inadequate security, against the protest of the late Mr. Commissioner Finucane, and to examine the reports of the Commissioners' inspectors on those estates; (2) whether county councils liable for default in payment of land purchase annuities will be furnished with the names of the estates in their respective counties for which public money has been advanced on inadequate security by a decision that was not unanimous, against the protest of the late Mr. Commissioner Finucane, and with the reports of the Commissioners' inspectors on those estates; (3) on whose information he informed the House that the Estates Commissioners did not know the estates for which they had advanced public money on inadequate security, against the protest of the late Mr. Commissioner Finucane; on what ground the Commissioners withhold from the House the names of the estates now admitted to be known to them in which their decisions to advance the money were not unanimous; and by how much in each case did the sum advanced exceed the ascertained value of the property; (4) whether the issue of the Estates Commissioners' Annual Report, ready last July, was delayed until December, awaiting the result of pressure upon the late Mr. Commissioner Finucane to concur in declarations and advances of public money on inadequate security; (5) whether the next meeting of the General Council of Irish County Councils will be furnished with a full list of the estates for the purchase of which a majority of the Estates Commissioners have, against the protest of the late Mr. Commissioner Finucane, advanced prices in excess of what their inspectors found the respective properties to be worth, and with the amount of the excess and the report of the inspector in each case; and (6) whether on any of the estates for the purchase of which a majority of the Estates Commissioners advanced public money on inadequate security, against the protest of their colleague, the late Mr. Commissioner Finucane, there were any tenants who refused to sign purchase agreements on the landlord's terms or signed only under duress; whether these were informed of the disagreement of the Commissioners as to the legality of the excessive advance; and whether he will state, in respect of each such case, the value of the holding as ascertained by the official inspector, the 1958W amount advanced for it, and the excess of this over the value?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI have no reason to think that money has been advanced by the Estates Commissioners on inadequate security in any case, nor does Mr. Finucane's memorandum of dissent appended to the last Report of the Commissioners give any ground for such an assertion. The allegation that pressure was put upon him to agree to such advances is absolutely baseless. I am not prepared to grant access to the confidential records of the Department.