asked the Taoiseach, with reference to the reply to a question on 24th May, if he will state what machinery is available whereby the acquisition of land by non-nationals has been and is being kept under observation and if he is satisfied that this machinery is adequate for the purpose in question.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Acquisition of Land by Non-Nationals.
As regards the period 1944-1950, the Minister for Lands obtained from the Land Commission inspectors details of cases where, to their knowledge, land was purchased by persons other than Irish citizens. A summary of these reports is regarded as a reasonably reliable measure of such transactions for that period. From 1st April, 1948, a record has been kept of all cases in which the 25 per cent. stamp duty imposed by Section 13 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947, has been paid, and in the future these records will be furnished regularly to the Central Statistics Office, where they will be summarised and kept under review. In occasional cases where particulars of acreage are not available when the documents are presented for payment of the stamp duty, the required details will be ascertained by subsequent inquiry.
The proposed record will be incomplete in so far as it will not contain particulars of cases in which purchases of land by persons other than Irish citizens are exempted from payment of the 25 per cent. duty by sub-section (13) of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947, but it will, in my judgment, be adequate for the purpose in view.