§ Mr. O'DOWDasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) if he can give an estimate of the 1227W number of acres of land in Ireland now out of tillage owing to the scarcity of agricultural labour?
§ Mr. RUSSELLThe total areas under tillage in Ireland in the years 1914, 1915, and 1916 were respectively 2,327,752 acres, 2,404,281 acres, and 2,400,356 acres. The Department are unable to estimate the area which will be tilled during the coming season, and they are not in a position to state how much of the slight decline in tillage which has taken place this year has been due solely to scarcity of agricultural labour, seeing that other important factors also enter into the problem.