asked the Minister for Lands if he will state (a) the year in which the first families were migrated from Galway West to the Midlands, (b) the number of families that have been migrated to date, (c) the acreage of land taken over by the Land Commission each year from migrants from Galway West, and (d) whether all this land has been disposed of, and, if not, the year in which it was acquired.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Migration from West Galway.
As regards (a) migrations under the Lands Acts, 1923-54, from western counties, including Galway, to the Midlands have been taking place since 1927. Apart from the fact that Land Commission records are not kept on a constituency basis, the precise information sought at (b), (c) and (d) is not readily available. It would require considerable research to procure it and, in present circumstances, I would not feel justified in asking the Land Commission to divert staff for this purpose.
Perhaps it may meet the Deputy's requirements, however, if I state that in the period 1923-58 an area of about 238,500 acres was allotted by the Land Commission in County Galway by way of enlargement and rearrangement of existing holdings, local migrations and other miscellaneous allotments. In the period from 1st April, 1948, to 31st March 1958, 124 families were migrated from various parts of County Galway to the Midlands and surrendered an area of approximately 5,700 acres in exchange for their new holdings. The lands vacated by the migrants were and are being utilised for the relief of local congestion as speedily as circumstances permit.