asked the Minister for Lands why landless men, who have been taking a substantial amount of land on the 11 months system over an extended period, are not considered favourably for allocation of land on estates being divided in their area.
36.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Settlement.
35.
asked the Minister for Lands the circumstances in which smallholders living more than a mile from an estate being divided by the Land Commission will be excluded from consideration for an addition to their holdings from the estate.
37.
asked the Minister for Lands if he will revise upwards the figure of 45 adjusted acres as the standard to which the Land Commission aims to bring smallholdings.
38.
asked the Minister for Lands the criteria used by the Land Commission in deciding how much of an estate in County Meath is to be allocated to local smallholders and landless men.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 35, 36, 37 and 38 together.
The primary objective of present land settlement policy is the structural reform of uneconomic holdings throughout the State with special emphasis on the relief of the acute congestion which prevails in western counties. The selection of allottees is a matter exclusively reserved to the commissioners. There is a statutory obligation that the Land Commission must be satisfied as to the competence and intention of all allottees to work the land; that apart, there is no statutory order of preference but, broadly speaking, the applicants who are considered to have the strongest claim to allotments are: displaced employees, local uneconomic holders, migrants, trustees for communal purposes, cottiers and other applicants.
Where lands are not required for structural reform of uneconomic holdings or other priority commitments, the claims of landless applicants in any locality are always carefully considered by the Land Commission. Preference is then given to those who have experience of the working of land and who have sufficient capital or stock to enable them to work any land that might be allotted to them. In practice, however, with so many already on the land in sub-standard units, the needs of the structural reform programme are such that landless men must, of necessity, take a low place in the allotment queue.
In County Meath, as elsewhere, eligible local smallholders have a first claim on land being distributed after due provision has been made for displaced employees. Indeed, all efforts are directed towards the allotment of enlargements to uneconomic holders living within a radius of one mile of the acquired lands. This limit has long been regarded as probably the safest distance consistent with the effective working of an enlargement. It is not a rigid mile and policy is sufficiently elastic to cater for some who may be marginally over the mile. Additionally as sometimes happens, a pocket of congestion found outside a distance of a mile from an acquired estate may be dealt with by migrating one or more of the smallholders and dividing the surrendered lands amongst the remaining deserving uneconomic holders.
Lest the impression should gain force that in the disposal of land acquired in County Meath the Land Commission cater exclusively for migrants, I should like to point out that of the aggregate area of 10,678 acres distributed in that county during the past five complete financial years, local i.e. Meath applicants received 6,206 acres or almost 60 per cent of the total allotment.
Since 1962 land settlement policy has been that holdings and enlargements are planned to provide family farms of 40 to 45 acres of good land or the equivalent in land of mixed quality. As I have already indicated on a number of occasions recently, the whole question of the future policy of the Land Commission and land policy in general is under active consideration by the Government. Pending a decision on the various issues involved I think it would be premature to comment further on the matters the subject of these questions.
In the consideration which the Minister says is taking place, would he agree that sympathetic consideration should be given to landless men who have been taking land over a substantial period on a substantial scale and that, in fact, they are just as much farmers as people who are fortunate enough to own their land and should, therefore, be considered? Would he also consider, in view of the modern pattern of agricultural production, particularly with reference to EEC conditions, that 45 adjusted acres is not sufficient to support a small family at the standard to which farmers are attaining and have a right to attain to at the moment? Would he also agree to reconsider this one mile limit? In view of the improved transport within agriculture one mile is no longer a prohibitive distance.
The Deputy may not make a speech.
In any event, there will be an early opportunity of airing this whole question on the Estimate for the Department.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.
Will the Minister deal specifically with the question of landless men who have been taking land on a substantial scale over a period? I should like to have his views on that.
I said at the end of my reply that I did not think it appropriate to comment further at this stage and I do not propose to do so.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.
In view of the extreme violence of the weekend, I should like, with your permission, to ask the Taoiseach what steps he proposes to take to deal——
The Deputy is totally out of order. He may not give notice in this irregular manner. The matter does not arise for discussion at this stage.
With your permission, I wish to raise on the Adjournment this evening, the question of general protection along the Border areas in view of the grave situation that is now arising.
The Chair will communicate with the Deputy.