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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 19 Mar 1970

Vol. 245 No. 5

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Purchase by Non-Nationals.

75.

asked the Minister for Lands if he will make a statement concerning the recent regulations made by him under the Land Act, 1965 permitting non-nationals to purchase land within the boundaries of 58 towns; and if, in particular, he will state the reasons for such regulations.

Section 45 of the Land Act, 1965, initiated a system of absolute control by the Land Commission over the purchase of rural land by non-qualified persons—principally non-nationals. It was never intended that this control should apply to urban land and, in fact, right from the outset, lands situated in a county borough, borough, urban district or town were specifically exempted by sub-section (1) section 45.

At the time of the passing of the Act the exemption of towns had to be confined to municipal towns because the boundaries of non-municipal towns had not then been defined. To avoid confusion amongst conveyancers it was necessary to have a clear idea of what was meant by "town" and to be able to say that a particular piece of land was urban or rural by reference to a map.

However, the expressed intention, when the Land Bill was under discussion, was that, as and when non-municipal towns achieved full status or were precisely delimited, the propriety of their exclusion from the operation of the section would be considered. As matters stood, Land Commission consent was necessary in relation to the sale of shops, public houses, dancehalls and the like in towns such as Roscrea, Clondalkin, Kildare, Ballybunion, Carrick-on-Shannon, and many others. These transactions are of no significance in the context of the control system for rural land established by the Act.

The boundaries of these non-municipal towns have now been defined by their respective planning authorities and the recent regulations were made by me simply to equate, in terms of exemption, the 58 non-municipal towns with the municipal towns.

Would the Minister consider incorporating the list of 58 towns in the reply and issuing it in the Official Report?

Yes, I shall do that.

May I ask the Minister by what criteria have such towns been excluded? The Minister has said there is no reason why they should be included under the Land Act but he has not given any reasons why they should be excluded under the regulations.

It was always intended that they should be excluded and in fact during the debate my predecessor gave an undertaking that when the limits of the towns were defined by the respective planning authorities they would be excluded from the operation of the section. This is of no significance so far as the protection of rural land is concerned.

May I ask the Minister what is the difference between an acre of land when there is a proposition by an alien to purchase it and the decision of an alien to come in and buy, for the sake of argument, half a street in a rural town in Ireland in order to develop it for his own purposes?

The Land Commission are concerned only with land for agricultural purposes and its restructuring to meet the needs of the people as far as possible, and not with towns.

I must confess that the Minister's reasoning completely eludes me.

May I ask the Minister if maps of these towns and the new boundaries are now available?

Yes, so I understand.

And will be placed in the Library of the House?

I suppose so. They should be available.

And are population statistics available in respect of 1966 for the areas included within these towns?

I do not know.

The Minister will appreciate that this could be of some importance. In this country we have lacked, because of the lack of definition of town boundaries, adequate population statistics for many small towns and it would be very useful if these were made available.

May I ask the Minister what the position would be in a town such as Millstreet in County Cork if a publican has attached to his premises an acre of land within the town boundary? That acre of land is excluded under the Land Act as regards sale to aliens and yet one mile down the road outside the town boundary an acre of land must be approved for sale. Is that so?

That is correct, because you are now in the country and that is what the Land Commission are there to deal with. I now have the list required by Deputy Tully. It is as follows:

List of non-municipal towns comprising Part II of the First Schedule to the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 and the subject of "Land Act, 1965 (Additional Category of Qualified Person) Regulations, 1970".

AbbeyfealeAbbeyleixAthenryBailieboroughBallaghaderreenBallinrobeBallybofeyBallybunionBallyhaunisBanagherBlanchardstownBlarneyCaherCaherciveenCarndonaghCarrick-on-ShannonCastlecomer-DonaguileCastleislandCastlereaghCelbridgeClaraClaremorrisClifdenClondalkinDingleDonegalDunmanwayEnnistymonGortGraiguenamanagh-TinnahinchGreystones-Delgany

KanturkKenmareKildareKillorglinKillybegsKilmallockLucan-DoddsboroughMalahideMaynoothMillstreetMitchelstownMoateMonasterevinMountrathMovillePortarlingtonPortlawRathdrumRathluircRoscreaRushSkerriesSwinfordSwordsTallaghtThomastownTullow.

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