To ask the Minister for Agriculture if he has had any correspondence with the representatives of the United Irish Plotholders' Union with reference to their allotments in Dublin; and, if so, will he state the result of the plotholders' efforts to retain same; further, if he will take steps to see that plotholders are not dispossessed of their holdings for purposes other than that of building houses.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. - ALLOTMENTS IN DUBLIN.
I have had correspondence with the representatives of the United Irish Plotholders' Union with reference to allotments in Dublin and immediate neighbourhood. The plotholders have requested that certain land which was let voluntarily for plots for last season should be acquired compulsorily for the coming season by the Department of Agriculture. I have replied to the Union that it is premature at present to conclude that sufficient land to meet the requirements of plotholders next year will not be available through voluntary lettings; that the power of taking land compulsorily for this purpose was derived from measures hurriedly enacted by the British Parliament during the European War in order to provide against a threatened shortage of food, and that the emergency then anticipated has passed away. If there is to be permanent provision for allotments in this country it should be made under an Act passed after due consideration by the Dáil. I appreciate the advantages of the Plotholding Movement and hope to see legislative proposals on the subject placed before the Dáil in the coming year. In the meantime, persons who desire to obtain land for allotments should endeavour to do so by negotiation with the owners concerned.