asked the Minister for Lands if he is aware of the large number of farmers' sons who have the necessary capital to part purchase a farm of land; and if it is his intention to make available through the Land Commission facilities for such people to deposit anything up to one-third the purchase price and thus have placed on the land men of the proper agricultural outlook who will have a natural interest in the home which they have part provided; if he is aware that this step will tend to obviate the existing serious position of having to evict the tenants from new farms which were allotted to those who had not the natural land outlook or the necessary capital to make good.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Purchase of Farms.
I presume that the purport of the Deputy's question is that the Land Commission, in dividing untenanted land acquired by them, should have a special regard to the claims of landless men with farming experience and with a certain amount of capital. That is in fact the policy of the Land Commission, and they are always prepared to allow a selected allottee to deposit portion of the purchase money of his parcel by a cash payment, and so to acquire a definite stake in the land.
It should be remembered, however, that the primary duty of the Land Commission is the relief of congestion, and accordingly the amount of land available for allotment to landless men is limited.