§ Mr. HACKETTasked the Chief Secretary whether he can state the reasons which induced the Estates Commissioners to decline to acquire the untenanted lands on the estate of Miss Griffith, situated at Rathnavaogue, Roscrea, county Tipperary; whether this is an estate which may be acquired compulsorily by the Estates Commissioners under the Irish Land Act, 1909; and whether, under the circumstances, he will advise the Estates Commissioners to acquire it compulsorily in order to relieve the congested state of the holdings in this district?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe owner of the estate referred to has accepted the Estates Commissioners' offer under the Evicted Tenants Act, 1907 for some 16 acres which the Commissioners required to provide a holding for an evicted tenant. The Commissioners, after inquiry and consideration, decided not to continue the proceedings for the acquisition of the residue of the lands for the purposes of that Act, and they are not in a position to say whether this residue could be acquired compulsorily under the Irish Land Act, 1909.