asked the Minister for Lands if he will state the acreage of land (other than lands for forestry purposes) in the possession of the Land Commission on December 31st, 1940; the acreage let under the eleven months' system during 1940; the acreage of same under tillage; and whether all land let by the Land Commission last year was let under the conditions contained in the Compulsory Tillage Order.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Use of Land Commission Holdings.
The information asked for by the Deputy is not available without the institution of a special inquiry and the allotment to it of time and staff which cannot be spared for such work. The amount of land on the hands of the Land Commission varies from day to day, and particularly so at this period of the year when land is being taken over and distributed to approved allottees. The Department's statistics are compiled as of the 31st March in each year and it may be taken that of late years the Land Commission would have on hands on any date between 31st December and 31st March something like 80,000 to 90,000 acres of land acquired under the 1923-39 Land Acts. Of that total about two-thirds would consist of mountain, moor and turbary, difficult to dispose of and most of it carried over from year to year. The balance would be arable and pasture land in process of distribution and of this, again, about one-third, judging from the experience of 1940, would be classed as arable. In the spring of 1940 there remained on Land Commission hands something less than 10,000 acres of arable land and, of this, close on 19 per cent. was tilled by means of conacre lettings, a proportion well beyond the requirements of the Tillage Order.
At the present moment, tillage lettings are being made in respect of any lands which are not likely to be distributed in time for cultivation by the allottees. It is quite impossible to make any estimate of the total area of arable land likely to remain on hands this spring, but the Deputy and the House may rest assured that the Land Commission will again arrange for full compliance with the Government's tillage requirements. I am aware that, already, in some Leinster counties, arrangements are being made for the tillage of practically 33? per cent. of such arable land as is not being distributed to allottees.
Do the letting advertisements issued with the authority of the Land Commission contain any provision that the land will be let subject to the regulations made under the Compulsory Tillage Order? My information is that no such condition is contained in the letting notices.
Look at the advertisements in to-day's paper.
My question referred to 1940.
It may not be possible, for technical reasons, to impose that condition in all cases. We are making the lettings, as far as possible, under a tillage condition and, in cases where, for technical reasons, we do not think it advisable to impose the condition, the allottees will, I take it—it often happens—till a portion of the land. A considerable amount of the land in the hands of the Land Commission is in the congested areas, and it has been the custom for many years to let that land from year to year to adjoining smallholders. Practically all these people are tilling more than is required by the tillage regulations and I am quite sure they are also tilling a considerable proportion of whatever lettings they may have.