asked the Minister for Lands the number of commonages divided in County Galway since March, 1973.
10.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Galway Commonages.
9.
asked the Minister for Lands the reason for the delay in dividing commonages in County Galway.
(Cavan): With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together.
Since the 1st April, 1973, the number of commonages divided in County Galway is 12 involving a total area of 2,174 acres and 89 shareholders.
There are no undue delays in investigation of applications for division of commonages. However, some applications on examination prove impracticable either because the agricultural potential of the land is too low or agreement between the shareholders cannot be obtained.
If the Deputy has any particular case in mind perhaps he would furnish details and I will arrange to have the matter looked into.
Would the Minister not agree that the main cause of the delay here is a clause in the legislation? Would he agree to our request to have the legislation amended to expedite the division of commonages?
(Cavan): I am afraid I cannot agree with the Deputy that the legislation is not strong enough to effect compulsory division of commonages. In the division of commonages the difficulty, if not sometimes the impossibility, is getting the owners to agree among themselves. If there was substantial disagreement and if the Land Commission went in and divided the commonage against the wishes of the owners they would create a situation which would be worse than the pre-division situation.