§ Mr. HAYDENasked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the tenants, fifty in number, on the Byron estate, county Roscommon, have sent a memorial to the Estates Commissioners requesting that body to hand over the estate to the Congested Districts Board; and whether, in view of the conditions which at present obtain on the estate, he will take steps to have the request of the tenants carried out?
1172W
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe memorial referred to has been received. This estate has been vested by the Land Judge in the Estates Commissioners under the Irish Land Act, 1903, and they have no power to transfer it to the Congested Districts Board. The resale of the estate has been delayed owing to the refusal of the tenants to consent to a scheme of rearrangement of their holdings which are intermixed. An inspector will be sent to report again in the matter as soon as practicable.
§ Mr. BOLANDasked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Congested Districts Board has not yet sent an inspector to value the D. C. O'Connell estate, near Mastergeehy; and whether, in view of the position in which the two tenants who had not signed purchase agreements are placed by reason of the previous report made by the inspector of the Estates Commissioners and the present delay on the part of the Board, he will make it a matter of urgency that an inspector be detailed forthwith to value these holdings?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Congested Districts Board will have this estate inspected, and a decision arrived at regarding purchase as soon as practicable having regard to the present engagements of their staff.
§ Mr. DUFFYasked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board have entered into negotiations with the owners of the Tyrone estate, county Galway, namely, Mrs. Concannon and Mrs. St. George, for the purchase of the estate; whether he is aware that two years since the necessary maps and title deeds were lodged with the Congested Districts Board and the lands inspected by their inspector, Mr. Hogan; whether the inspector's report has been considered by the Board, and, if not, whether he can state the reasons of the delay; and whether, in view of the congested state of the estate and in order to give immediate relief to small landholders of the district, the Board will take steps to acquire the estate for redistribution immediately?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThis estate was formally offered to the Congested Districts Board in August, 1910. The estate has been inspected, but the Board propose to have a second valuation made of the untenanted lands before considering the question of making an offer for purchase. If terms for purchase be agreed upon, the property will be dealt with as soon as practicable.
1173W
§ Mr. NEWMANasked the Chief Secretary whether, in the Return moved for and ordered on Wednesday last with reference to Purchase Inspectors and Others (Ireland), he would insert a column showing whether in the case of inspectors, judicial commissioners, and outdoor staff of the Congested Districts Board the acreage of land farmed was acquired before or subsequent to their appointment to any of the positions mentioned?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Return ordered, which is in the form of previous Returns already furnished, contains a column headed "Acreage of land farmed." The acreage there inserted means the acreage farmed before appointment.
§ Mr. HUGH LAWasked what progress has been made by the Congested Districts Board since February, 1910, in the matter of the purchase of the Cochrane and Watt estates, in the parish of Meevagh, county Donegal; and also in regard to the Crolly Bridge and Hill estates, situate in the same county?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe owner of the Hill Estate has informed the Congested Districts Board that he does not wish to sell his estate through them. The Board communicated with the agents for the other properties mentioned, informing them that they were willing to negotiate for a sale under the Act of 1909, but so far none of the estates have been offered for sale.
§ Mr. HUGH LAWasked whether the Congested Districts Board have received through their valuer who recently surveyed the estate of Colonel Barton, situate near Glen, county Donegal, an offer to purchase made on behalf of the tenants; whether negotiations have now been completed with the landlord, and, if so, with what result; and will the tenants, in the event of the sale taking place, be required to pay in full the year's rent now due?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe valuer's report on the estate referred to has not yet come before the Congested Districts Board for their consideration, and they cannot therefore reply to the several matters mentioned in the question.
§ Mr. SCANLANasked whether the Congested Districts Board or the Estates Commissioners have entered into negotiations with the proprietors of estates and ranches in the parishes of Skreen and Dromard, county Sligo, and at what stage 1174W the negotiations now stand; and if he can state whether the Doonflynn ranch in this district has been offered for sale, and, if not, whether the Congested Districts Board will adopt the compulsory powers of the Land Act of 1909 to acquire the ranch and divide it up for the relief of congestion in the district?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Congested Districts Board, in the absence of the names of the owners of the estates and ranches referred to, are unable to furnish the information asked for in the first part of the question. The estate of Dr. Fenton, Doonflynn, has not been formally offered for sale to the Board, and they have not up to the present considered the question of acquiring it compulsorily.