asked the Minister for Lands if he will state, in respect of the period 1st January, 1955, to 30th September, 1955, the total acreage of land acquired for afforestation purposes in (a) County Donegal, and (b) County Mayo.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Acquisition of Forestry Land in Donegal and Mayo.
In the nine months ended 30th September, 1955, the areas acquired for forestry purposes in Counties Donegal and Mayo were 949 and 2,460 acres, respectively.
Would the Minister indicate the factors which brought about the situation whereby in two counties almost similar we had less than 1,000 acres acquired for a certain period in one and over 2,000 in another?
That depends upon the way in which the offers come in and the time it takes to get title difficulties cleared up. For instance in 1951-52 there were 3,957 acres acquired in County Donegal and none at all in Mayo. In 1952-53 there were 3,698 acres acquired in Donegal and only 951 in County Mayo. Sometimes it takes two, and perhaps three, years to get the title difficulties settled, so that one cannot judge on the number of acres acquired in one year as distinct from another.