asked the Minister for Lands and Fisheries whether the sporting rights on the Sandford Estate, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, have been recently let by the Land Commission to the senior officer of that Department in Co. Roscommon, and to an officer of the Department of Local Government and Public Health; if so, will he state the rent offered and accepted, whether any public advertisement that the lands were to be let was published, and, if not, what procedure was adopted to ensure that the letting was made to the best public advantage, and further, whether he is aware that for the last eighteen years the shooting on this estate was free.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sporting Rights in Co. Roscommon.
The shooting over the untenanted land on the Ed. W. S. Wills Estate, Co. Roscommon, was leased by the Land Commission to Mr. C.F. Kelly for a period of 20 years from 1st April, 1924, at an annual rent of £1.
Mr. Kelly is the sole lessee of these rights. Except for the seasons 1921 to 1923 the shooting over this estate had been let annually since the lands were acquired by the Congested Districts Board in 1914.
Mr. Boland
That is not my question at all. I referred to the Sandford Estate. I got an answer dealing with another estate which Mr. Kelly got at the nominal rent of £1 a year. This is another estate which he has grabbed. I would like to know whether I will get the information I am asking for in this question.
My reply refers to the Sandford Estate. It is the only estate on which Mr. Kelly has shooting rights.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary state how soon the practice of letting lands in the Midlands to the higher officials of the Land Commission will cease?
Mr. Boland
Does the Parliamentary Secretary state that this was advertised? Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that if they were advertised the seventy or eighty people who are shooting over that estate would have tendered for it, and that it would be of much larger profit both to the Land Commission and the Revenue Department owing to the number of licences that would be taken out? How is the Parliamentary Secretary going to justify giving these shooting rights without advertising them?
The shooting rights were always an adjunct of the house. Mr. Kelly has these shooting rights since 1915. They were leased to him originally by the Congested Districts Board in 1915. He had these rights continuously until 1924, when he purchased the house. These sporting rights, as I have stated, were always regarded as an adjunct of the house. As a matter of fact, they are the only amenity in the district. The house was vacant for a considerable time, and possibly we would not have secured Mr. Kelly as a tenant were it not for the fact that we leased him these sporting rights.
Mr. Boland
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that there are two estates in question? Mr. Kelly has sporting rights over 1,200 acres at a pound a year for some years. Only this summer he and an official of the Local Government Department and another person drove off people who had been shooting for the last eighteen years over those lands. Two people have already been prosecuted and fined £20 for doing what they have been doing for eighteen years. Will the Parliamentary Secretary state that Mr. Kelly, Mr. O'Connor, and the other gentleman have not acquired extra shooting rights?
These are the only shooting rights held by Mr. Kelly. As a matter of fact they are the only shooting rights available. If any mistake has been made it is the Deputy's and not my mistake.
I just want to clear up one point. The question here relates to a senior officer in the Department of the Land Commission. Is the Mr. Kelly referred to by the Parliamentary Secretary an officer of the Land Commission?
He is.
Mr. Boland
I wish to raise this matter on the adjournment.