asked the Minister for Lands if he will state (1) why the occupier of Land Commission holding No. S7683 at Lowpark, County Galway, was dispossessed, (2) whether he is aware that the occupier was refused permission to sell although other occupiers similarly circumstanced were permitted to dispose of their holdings on the understanding that improvement grants for the erection of houses and out-offices would be recouped to the Land Commission, (3) why permission was refused, and (4) if he will now arrange for compensation for this man as the holding was allocated to his uncle, whom he succeeded, in lieu of his livelihood as a whole-time employee on the estate.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Galway Holding.
The holding referred to comprises an allotment of 37 acres made to an ex-employee of the Gaynor estate in 1936. By 1946, when user of the holding was found to be unsatisfactory, the allottee had died and the lands were occupied by his nephew. The latter was warned that, unless user improved, possession of the parcel would be recovered by the Land Commission and he was given repeated chances over a period of seven years in which to rectify the position. Finally, in 1953, when the required improvement was not forthcoming, the agreement under which the parcel was allotted was terminated and possession was eventually recovered in 1955 under a Circuit Court order. After the agreement had been terminated, an application for permission to sell the parcel was made on behalf of the occupier but the Commissioners decided that the granting of such an application was not warranted.
As only the persons actually displaced from employment by reason of the acquisition of an estate by the Land Commission are eligible for gratuties under Section 29 of the Land Act, 1950, the Land Commission have no statutory power to award a gratuity in the case in question.