asked the Minister for Lands if he will state the annual amount of annuities being collected from owners of land, the period for which they are payable, the estimated amount which will be collected before this liability on land owners terminates and the reason for the payments.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Annuities.
As the reply contains some tabular matter I propose, with your permission, a Chinn Chomhairle, to have it circulated with the Official Report.
Following is the reply:—
The amount of annuities collected annually in repayment of advances made by the Land Commission to tenant purchasers varies according as fresh advances are made and existing annuities amortised. The annuities collectable as at the 2nd gale, 1951, under the Land Acts, 1881-1950, amount to £2,355,745 2s. 4d. per annum, to which might be added a sum of £123,397 10s. 4d. in respect of advances under the Labourers Acts, 1906-1914, the Labourers Act, 1936, and contributions under the Land Reclamation Act, 1949, giving a total of £2,479,142 12s. 8d.
The period of payment of annuities in respect of advances made by the Land Commission varies in accordance with the financial provisions of the particular Act under which the advances were made. The periods are approximately as follows:—
|
Acts |
Approximate Period of Payment |
Remarks |
|
1881-1889 |
Varies from 49 years to 79 years. |
Tenant purchasers under the Acts 1881-1889 and 1891-1896 could elect to accept any or all of three decadal revisions. Each revision reduced the amount of the annuity and extended the period of repayment by a further ten years. The great majority of purchasers accepted the revisions |
|
1891-1896 |
Varies from 42½ years to 72½ years where the full Purchase Money was advanced and from 45½ years to 75½ years where ¾thu only of the Purchase Money was advanced. |
|
|
1903 |
68½years |
|
|
1909 |
65½years |
|
|
1923-1950 |
Varies from 33½years to 66½ years. |
The periods of payment are further varied in cases where arrears were funded under the Land Act, 1933, and where two or more holdings, in respect of which advances were made, stand consolidated. Thus the period of payment of any annuity depends on the circumstances of the particular case.
As advances are still being made it is impossible to estimate the total amount which will ultimately be collected by the Land Commission.
The land purchase annuities are, of course, the repayment of advances made to tenants and allottees for the purchase of their holdings and allotments.
I might add that the benefits conferred on the farming community by the revision provisions of the Land Act, 1933, amount to more than £40,000,000 to date.