asked the Minister for Local Government whether he is aware that ejectment proceedings have been instituted by the Irish Sailors' and Soldiers' Land Trust against tenants of Trust houses in Dublin and elsewhere, and whether he will request the Trust not to proceed pending a settlement of the whole problem of these houses.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Sailors' and Soldiers' Land Trust.
The Irish Sailors' and Soldiers' Land Trust was established for the purpose of providing in Ireland cottages for the accommodation of men who served in the British armed forces in the 1914-18 War. The Trust claims that qualified applicants are still awaiting tenancies of Trust houses and that it is obliged to have regard to such applications under the law as it stands. It is, however, the practice of the Trust to allow the widows of deceased ex-servicemen to continue in occupation as tenants-at-will.
I have no power to alter the purposes of the Trust, which are set out in the Irish Land (Provision for Sailors and Soldiers) Act, 1919, and the Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1922. Consultation with the British authorities is desirable with a view to the possibility of formulating an agreed policy on the matter. The preliminaries to such consultation are at present being considered.
Pending the solution of this serious problem, will the Minister request the Trust not to proceed with the threatened evictions?
As a result of another Deputy's representations, requests have been made to the Trust but each time the reply of the Trust has been that they were bound by law to keep the tenancies for the people who were entitled to them under the statute.
Is the Minister aware that, in fact, they have postponed ejectment proceedings?
Quite.