asked the Minister for Lands if he will state what steps he has taken, since the termination of hostilities in Europe, to augment the staff of the Land Commission to cope with the work of distributing the lands which have been acquired by the commission.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Commission Staff.
Mr. Boland
It has not yet been possible to secure the return to the Land Commission of all the inspectors who were seconded to the Department of Agriculture for tillage supervision, nor has it been possible to fill vacancies through the medium of open competition. A competition held recently failed to produce the required number of suitable candidates, and consideration is now being given to the question of holding a fresh competition. It will be understood, of course, that progress in land division depends on other factors besides trained staff, as, for example, on availability of building materials, which are still in very short supply.
The administrative, executive and clerical staffs at headquarters have been substantially increased during the last 12 months, chiefly, I should say, with the object of improving the rate of progress in revesting of holdings and parcels.