asked the Minister for Lands whether he is aware that the Land Commission have acquired estates in East Donegal and have erected houses thereon for the purpose of the creation of residential holdings and whether he is further aware that local landless men living near these estates have for generations existed by the extensive cultivation of conacre letting on these lands and if steps will forthwith be taken to ensure that the interests of these conacre tenants will not be interfered with as a result of the division of these estates.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - East Donegal Land Acquisition.
Mr. Blaney
The selection of allottees is a reserved function of the commissioners. In determining the persons to be selected as allottees, the commissioners have due regard to the claims of all applicants including local conacre tenants.
Mr. Blaney
Will the Minister indicate what Government policy is in regard to this matter and is he aware——
I am sorry. I cannot hear the Deputy.
Mr. Blaney
Is the Minister aware that the position in East Donegal is perhaps unique in so far as the people working the land there are actually landless men? They have been taking the land for generations. While they virtually rank as farmers they are, in fact, landless men. If the policy is to supplant these people by migrants from the congested areas, what then does the Minister propose to do with these local men who are now working the land? Where will they be housed? Where will they be given work? What is the policy of the Government in relation to this matter?
I am quite well aware that in the area known as the Lagan Valley the position is unique from the point of view of the economy of the particular area. Nothing like it is to be found in any other part of the Twenty-Six Counties. The Land Commission is fully aware of that and they have due regard for the peculiar system of economy that quite a large number of the people there have built up for themselves over a long period of years. The Deputy made a statement in his supplementary question that the policy of the Government was to supplant these people by migrants from other areas. That is not true. That is not the case.
Mr. Blaney
Are we given to understand it will not be the case?