asked the Minister for Lands and Agriculture if he can state when the lands on the Belmount Estate, in County Wexford, will be divided; if he is aware that those lands are let at present to the occupier of over 200 acres of other lands; that a promise was given that those lands would have been divided last December, and the Land Commission was supplied with the names of uneconomic holders of land adjoining the estate, and that notwithstanding this promise the lands were again let to the large landholder above described for the present season.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - DIVISION OF WEXFORD ESTATE.
Mr. LYNCH
The Land Commission acquired 118a. 1r. 32p. of the lands of Newtown with Belmount House on the estate of Patrick Rath. Belmount House, with 12 acres of land, has been sold to a purchaser. The Land Commission are not yet in a position to allot the residue of the untenanted lands, and pending preparation of a scheme for division they have let them for grazing.
Mr. DOYLE
A promise was made to divide those lands last December. Names were asked for by the Land Commission of the holders of uneconomic farms adjoining. Notwithstanding that these names were supplied and that a promise was made to divide those lands in December, a man in possession of 200 acres got the letting of this holding for this season again. Can the Minister give us any definite reason why this land has not been divided up to the present, or will he say whether it will be divided in the future?
Mr. LYNCH
The list the Deputy refers to was received at the office. I am not personally aware that any definite promise was made to divide those lands in December. If a promise was made, it would have to be subject to the preparation of a scheme. The letting only extends to the 1st January. We hope then to have a scheme in readiness under which the lands can be disposed of.