asked the Minister for Lands if it has been the policy of the Irish Land Commission, since 1937, to exclude from schemes for division of estates all landless men applicants in the scheduled congested districts; whether a similar policy is adopted in all cases outside the congested districts, and, if not, what are the reasons for differentiation; further, if he will consider having policy altered to permit of inclusion in allotment schemes landless men applicants with agricultural experience and capital sufficient to enable them to work holdings in accordance with the stipulated regulation, viz., "proper methods of husbandry".
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Policy of Land Commission.
The policy of the Land Commission in the division of untenanted land does not involve the exclusion from division schemes of landless men applicants either within or outside the scheduled congested districts. Subject to their primary duty of providing for the relief of congestion, the claims of landless men among others are duly considered by the Land Commission. Since 1937 some 950 landless men (other than ex-employees on the land, evicted tenants and cottiers) have been allotted parcels of untenanted land acquired under the Land Acts 1923-39, and some 250 of these men were in the scheduled congested districts.