asked the Minister for Justice if, in view of the fact that the Doneraile title is now extinct and the estate is reverting to the State, he will give an assurance that householding tenants on the estate will be permitted to buy the freehold of their properties.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Doneraile Estate.
66.
So far as concerns the position of these tenants under the Landlord and Tenant Acts, that position has been examined by the Landlord and Tenant Commission. If the tenants have a valid claim in regard to the right to purchase the fee simple and if that right is not recognised by the law as it stands, the commission will doubtless have recommendations to make for appropriate changes in the law.
If however what the Deputy is asking is that any rights the tenants may have or may later acquire against the estate should be recognised by the State in the event that the Doneraile estate passes to the State, I think he can take it that no difficulty would arise in that event. But I would like to make it clear that information as to whether or not the estate is expected to become State property is not, and in the ordinary course would not be, available to my Department.