asked the Minister for Lands if he will state the reasons why the Land Commission suspended activities for the acquisition of land in Laoighis and Offaly; and when same will be resumed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Suspension of Acquisition Proceedings.
At the commencement of the emergency, general conditions necessitated considerable transfers of staff from the Land Commission to other Departments and it became impossible to continue normal acquisition operations. Some of the staff has returned to the Land Commission and acquisition proceedings have been resumed in the scheduled congested counties, where the problem of congestion is acute. I am unable to say when it will be possible to resume acquisition proceedings in the other counties, as several factors are involved, for example:-(1) the very large amount of work to be done to complete the distribution and vesting of land already acquired; (2) the shortage of inspectorial staff and of building materials and (3) the prevailing high price of land.