asked the Minister for Lands if he will state, in respect of each county, the area of (a) arable, and (b) non-arable land in the possession of or under the immediate control of the Land Commission; and if he will state further the percentage of the arable land in each case which was tilled in the year 1940, and the percentage which it is proposed to bring under tillage in 1941.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Commission-Controlled Land.
The information asked for by the Deputy is not available, and I am not prepared to incur the trouble and expense of attempting to procure it. The amount of land in the hands of the Land Commission varies almost from day to day according as lands are acquired and distributed, and, similarly the tillable area is constantly varying as lands are fenced, drained and prepared for division.
During the current year special steps were taken to see that the requirements of the Compulsory Tillage Order were complied with in respect of all lands for which the Land Commission had responsibility and an area was, in fact, tilled which was substantially in excess of the statutory quota. This tillage was not always done holding by holding, or estate by estate; inspectors were given authority to have arable land on hands cultivated wherever the work could be satisfactorily done to the intent that the Department's liability in respect of all their lands would be fully met. A similar method will be followed in 1941 when, as the Deputy will be aware, a larger percentage of tillage than in 1940 is being called for. It is quite impossible to make even a guess as to the amount of arable land for the cultivation of a proportion of which the Land Commission will be responsible next year.