asked the Minister for Lands and Fisheries if he is aware that some of the tenants on the J.H. Cronin Estate, in the parish of Killeentierna-Dysert, Co. Kerry, signed agreements in the year 1907 to purchase their holdings under the 1903 Land Act, and agreed to pay 4 per cent. interest in lieu of rent; that these tenants are compelled to pay for a period of 21 years interest in lieu of rent at 4 per cent. instead of the 3¼ per cent. interest on purchase money, and whether he will now state if his Department or the vendors are responsible for the delay in vesting, and whether the difference between the 4 per cent. and the 3¼ will be refunded by the party who is responsible for the delay, the difference in one particular case being £80, and in another eight over £70.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Delay in Vesting of Kerry Lands.
The sale of the estate of J.H. Cronin, Co. Kerry, E. C. No. 4814, from the vendor direct to the tenants under the provisions of the Land Acts, 1903-1909, was carried through by means of voluntary agreements made between the parties. The Commissioners vested the lands of the estate in the tenants in accordance with the terms of these agreements. The agreements fixed the purchase moneys of the holdings, and provided that interest in lieu of rent, calculated at the rate of 4 per cent. thereon, should be collected by the Land Commission from the dates on which the agreements were signed to the dates on which the holdings were vested in the tenants. This was accordingly done and the interest in lieu of rent paid over to the vendor. The delay in vesting the lands of the estate in the tenants was due principally to the inability of the vendor and the tenants to arrive at an agreement on the distribution of the bogs, and the Commissioners, having made several unsuccessful attempts extending over a number of years to effect a settlement of the turbary disputies, finally decided to close the sale of the estate and deal with the distributions of the turbary under the provisions of the Land Act, 1923. This is being done.