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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 25 Mar 1943

Vol. 89 No. 12

Ceisteanna.—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Carlow Estates.

asked the Minister for Lands if he can state why the Young estate, Ballykilduff and Raheen, and the Roche estate, Ballyshane, both in County Carlow, have not yet been subdivided; and why no tillage has been carried out on those lands during the present season.

Owing to the emergency conditions, the Land Commission were not in a position to have the schemes for the division of the Young estate at Ballykilduff and Raheen and the Roche estate at Ballyshane, ready in time to put into operation this spring. Tillage lettings for the current season have already been made by the Land Commission.

Is the Minister aware that two of these holdings have been in possession of the Land Commission for over three years, and that one has been in the possession of the Land Commission for five years; that, during those five years, the land has been continuously sublet for tillage and grazing, and that the same land has been let year after year for tillage without any manure? Has the Minister taken into consideration the fact that there are a number of uneconomic holders in the vicinity who are prepared to manure and cultivate the land properly? Does he further realise that by his failure to carry out proper tillage on this farm, he is setting an extremely bad example to the farmers and the community generally?

There is no question of setting a bad example to the rest of the community, as the Land Commission have tilled more than the appropriate quota of the lands in their possession since the compulsory tillage Orders came into operation. These lands, as I have said, were let by auction last week. The Land Commission are not in a position at present to implement schemes for certain lands in their possession, owing to shortage of staff. A very large number of our inspectorial staff have been transferred to the compulsory tillage section of the Department of Agriculture. In addition, a very large number of staff from the acquisition, resale and purchase branches of the Land Commission have been transferred to other Departments for work arising out of the emergency. The result is that it has been found necessary to curtail greatly the work of the Land Commission. In addition, only a very limited amount of petrol is available for the limited staff at my disposal, so that, even if normal conditions obtain in the near future, it will take some time to have all these schemes put into operation.

Does the Minister not appreciate that even if it is impossible to subdivide the land, at least it should have been sublet before the middle of March? Is he aware that the first stroke was ploughed on these lands during the present week, and surely he must realise that if any farmer were to adopt the same policy with regard to his land, the Minister for Agriculture would have him lodged in Mountjoy by this time?

The position is that the Land Commission may have expected—I cannot say they did, but it is possible—to be able to put their scheme into operation, but difficulties arose which prevented the Land Commission from carrying their policy into operation. They may have expected, for example, by Christmas or January to have these lands divided, but found that, owing to the physical difficulties I have indicated, they were not able to have them divided, and therefore had to let them for another period.

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