asked the Minister for Agriculture when the prescribed form, mentioned in Section 38 of the Land Act, 1923, will be available for making application to the Land Commission for an advance, for the purpose of redeeming the rent in cases of fee farms or leases; whether, where proceedings are instituted for recovery of the entire compounded arrears of rent, and where 75 per cent. of total arrears are offered by the tenant, proceedings will be stayed until such time as the prescribed form can be obtained.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - LAND COMMISSION ADVANCES.
The Rules under Section 38 of the Land Act, 1923, governing applications for advances for the purposes of redeeming certain fee farm and other rents, will shortly be ready and will then be published without delay.
The second part of the Question assumes that there is doubt as to the amount of the arrears which will be payable by tenants who intend availing themselves of the provisions of this Section. That is not so. Cases coming under Section 38 are unaffected by the Clauses of the Act relating to compounded arrears of rent or payment in lieu of rent, and the full amount of the arrears due is payable. There is, accordingly, nothing to be gained by the withholding of fee farm rents or by the staying of proceedings, pending the issue of the Rules in question. A large proportion of the landlords of the country hold their lands under long leases or fee farm grants. Hence the impossibility of treating either lessees or fee farm grantees as tenants.