asked the Minister for Lands if he will expedite the acquisition of land for forestry in the Ballyshannon and Pettigo areas, County Donegal and so avert redundancy in the work force in the New Year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. - County Donegal Lands.
53.
Cavan): I can assure the Deputy that all possible steps are being taken to expedite acquisition of land for afforestation in the areas to which his question refers. Some redundancies are, however, inevitable in the months ahead and the Forest and Wildlife Service will be depending on the anticipated acquisitions to maintain employment at the reduced levels.
Is the Minister aware that some land that has been acquired is available? If it were put into the development operation it might avert some of the redundancy.
(Cavan): I am aware that in the Pettigo-Lettercran area the price has been agreed. In one case the area involved is 833 acres and another vendor is expected to agree to the sale of 100 acres. Apart from these cases, price agreements have been reached in nine small cases which are with the Chief State Solicitor for title clearance. Everything possible is being done in connection with this matter.
The Minister may not have the information now but I wrote some time ago suggesting a scheme of forestry walks for the Pettigo area similar to those being carried out in other areas. Perhaps an amenity scheme similar to the one near Boyle might be considered?
(Cavan): I have not that information but I will look into the matter. The Rockingham scheme near Boyle is a major forest park.
54.
asked the Minister for Lands the date on which a 31-acre holding (details supplied) was acquired by the Land Commission at Killaghtee and Bogside, County Donegal; whether it was acquired from the original owner or from a person who had purchased it after the Land Commission had initiated proceedings; and if he is aware that a young local farmer had purchased the holding before the proceedings were completed but was not allowed to complete the transaction.
(Cavan): Possession of the property referred to passed to the Land Commission on 2nd March, 1973.
The proceedings were taken in the name of the person who appeared to be the owner at the time and who was stated to have purchased the lands some time previously. Before the matter was finalised an application for consent to the sale of the lands to a local farmer was considered by the Land Commission but refused because of acute congestion in that district.
Would the Minister agree that this is an area in which the congestion problem could not be sustained in that the person in question who regards himself as the legitimate purchaser of the land is a man well qualified to receive land and has no means other than the temporary accommodation he has at the moment?
(Cavan): I regret the information at my disposal does not bear out what the Deputy has said. It appears the land in question was sold by the original owner in June, 1971. An inspection notice was served on 3rd September, 1971, proceedings commenced for acquisition of the land on 3rd December, 1971, and the provisional list was published on 26th January, 1972. On 18th February, 1972, an application was made on behalf of the person in whom, I think, the Deputy is interested; that application was fully considered but was refused on 24th May, 1972.
The information before me, which deals with a transaction long before I became Minister for Lands, shows that the inspectors investigated fully the Deputy's constituent. It was revealed that the person in question was a landless man, living with his wife and two young children on a 42-acre holding owned by his brother-in-law. It was revealed he had three cows, four two-year-old cattle and 50 sheep on the lands situated in the townland of Tawneygorm, Inver, some five miles from the land which is mentioned in this question. The information on the file shows that the person worked full-time as a lorry driver in the town of Dunkineely. The inspector's report of May, 1972, showed he was not a suitable purchaser. The report also showed there were five worthy congests in the immediate vicinity. That is all the information I have on the file.
I do not like to bring the matter to a personal level, but is the Minister aware that the applicant informed me that the Minister told him personally if he were Minister at the time he would have seen to it that he got the land?
(Cavan): That is news to me. I have no recollection of meeting the man in question unless, perhaps, he called on me in Cavan. Is that correct?
That may be.
(Cavan): Accompanied by someone else?
Perhaps it was in Monaghan?
(Cavan): It was not in Monaghan. It may have been in Cavan some months ago. Certainly I could not have told him any such thing then because I had not access to the files and did not know the particulars of the case.
Is it not the case that the Minister does not interfere in the matter of land allocation?
(Cavan): Of course that is so and I have said that in the House. The statutory authority for acquisition and allocation of land rests with the lay commissioners. If the Minister had authority to give a direction or to allocate land in a case such as this, the Deputy would have been in a fairly strong position when this transaction was taking place.
As the Minister can see from the file, I did all I could but I was not successful.
(Cavan): I can see that, assisted by a few others.