asked the Minister for Lands and Fisheries if he will state to the 1st March last (a) the area of land for which purchase prices have been fixed; (b) the area for which acquisition proceedings are in progress; (c) the area which the Land Commission have taken possession of but have not divided, and (d) the area for which schemes of division have been or are being prepared.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Acquisition.
At the 1st of March last, the position in regard to untenanted land in process of acquisition and division by the Land Commission under the Land Acts, 1923-31, was approximately as follows:—(a) prices had been fixed or agreed upon for an area of 41,000 acres; (b) prices had been offered or provisional lists published in respect of an additional area of 73,000 acres; (c) the area which the Land Commission had acquired but not yet definitely divided was about 78,000 acres; (d) the area for which schemes of division have been or are being prepared is not readily available but is estimated at about 100,000 acres.
The figures under (a) and (b) relate only to areas for which definite proceedings to acquire had been taken at the date mentioned. In addition, the Land Commission has under investigation with a view to suitability for acquisition an area of about 685,000 acres, of which some 250,000 acres have been inspected.