Vol. 471 No. 1
224 Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when work was initiated on the division of the Pollnaclougha commonage (details supplied) in County Galway; when the works will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20363/96]
As the Deputy is no doubt aware, this is a very unusual and complicated case which has been ongoing for some considerable period of time.
To enable the Land Commission to divide a commonage the applicants must have an entitlement to shares in the fee simple. Unfortunately this is not the case in relation to the applicants concerned whose entitlement is limited to grazing and turbary rights.
It would be relatively straightforward to divide the grazing rights among the applicants but their continuing preference is to be registered as owners of defined plots. This requires the establishment of right to fee simple, a task which so far has proved impossible.
The fee simple was held in trust up to the beginning of the century at which stage the trust lapsed. This complicates the difficult legal arrangement in the process of being put in place to effect the division of these rights, so as to entitle the applicants to use defined plots. Work in this regard is ongoing but given its unusual complexity it is not possible to say when this case will be completed.
