asked the Minister for Lands whether it was with his approval that the Land Commission issued notices of intention to acquire the lands of W. R. Devereux in the County of Wexford on the Estate of F. King, Record No. U 8132 A and R 65578/35, in view of the fact that Mr. Devereux holds 90 acres of land, all of which he works with the assistance of five agricultural labourers and two domestics.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Acquisition of Wexford Holding.
The approval of the Minister for Lands is not required for the issue by the Land Commission of notices of intention to acquire lands, "the determination of the actual lands to be acquired or resumed" being one of the excepted matters under Section 6 of the Land Act, 1933.
I may say, however, that the Land Commission have not decided to acquire the lands to which the Deputy refers, but they propose to have an inspection thereof made under the provisions of Section 40 (6) of the Land Act, 1923, for the purpose of ascertaining particulars of the holding. All the circumstances of the case will be fully considered by the Land Commission before coming to a decision as to any further proceedings.
Surely Deputies are to assume that the Minister for Lands is responsible to this House for all the activities of the Land Commission? The purpose of my question is to ascertain whether it is in conformity with the policy of the Department of Lands to proceed to acquire land on the holding of a person who has no more than 90 acres, who is employing labour largely, and who is farming the land on behalf of himself and his family. Is it the policy of the Minister compulsorily to acquire land of that character?
It certainly is not.
Why then is the Land Commission taking the initial steps to acquire land of the character I have described from Mr. Devereux?
Is not that a question for the Court of Appeal?
I am asking the Parliamentary Secretary. He says it is not the policy to compulsorily acquire land of the character referred to in the question. I ask him therefore why does the Land Commission take the initial steps for the acquisition of this land, if it is not the policy to acquire it?
Land Commission inspectors in the ordinary course of their work are supposed to report on all large holdings which come under their notice. In this instance what happened was that the inspector who was operating in the area reported this holding amongst others.
Am I to understand that the Minister has definitely decided that this land will not be compulsorily acquired?
It is not a matter for the Minister to decide. As I have already stated in the first part of my reply, it is one of the excepted matters under Section 6 of the Land Act of 1933. But I can assure the Deputy and everybody else that in all such cases everything that can possibly be considered in favour of the holder of such land, such as giving large employment and that sort of thing, will be taken into consideration before any steps will be taken to deprive him of his land.
Might I ask, as a matter of interest, what is the departmental definition of a large holding in that connection? The Parliamentary Secretary said that the inspector had instructions to report upon all large holdings. Just how many acres constitute a large holding for that departmental purpose?
The valuation will determine it.
Evidently 90 acres and over.
It depends on the local Fianna Fáil club.