asked the Minister for Lands the number of holdings sold on the open market in the counties of Longford and Westmeath for which he refused sanction for transfer to the purchasers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Longford-Westmeath Holdings.
3.
(Cavan): I assume that what the Deputy has in mind are cases where consent to sell was refused because acquisition proceedings had been or were being instituted by the Land Commission or an inspection notice had been served. Such consent is of course a matter for the Land Commission and not the Minister for Lands.
I understand that in the period from 1st January, 1974 to 30th November, 1975, consent to sell in such circumstances was refused by the Land Commission in five cases in County Longford. There were no cases in County Westmeath.
Is the Minister aware that the fact that the Land Commission have refused to sanction the transfer of holdings which have been sold on the open market is deemed to be a grave injustice not merely to the seller but to the buyer, and will the Minister take steps to regularise the position and avoid this competition arising between the Land Commission and smallholders? In most if not all of the five cases the people who have bought the holdings would be eligible for allocations of land if it were available, and therefore it is difficult to see the ground for the Minister's move.
(Cavan): I am sure the Deputy knows that the consent of the Land Commission, not of the Minister, is required to a sale only in a limited number of cases: one, where the Land Commission initiate proceedings by the service of notice of acquisition; two, where subdivision is involved; and three, where the purchaser is a non-national or a company. If the Land Commission were not to have the authority to serve notices and to investigate land, it would become impossible for them to get on with their business. My reply shows that sales are infrequently interfered with. I covered the period January, 1974 to November, 1975, nearly two years, and in that period there were only five cases in Longford and none in Westmeath.
The Minister is sticking to a well-worn path, and no blame to him for doing so, but in view of the high price of land does not the Minister know that the Land Commission are not able to compete on the open market? If smallholders are competing on the open market in order to solve their own congestion problems, they should be allowed to do so. Alternatively there should be a leasing system.
(Cavan): With all due respect to the Deputy, I am of the opinion that the most painless time to acquire land is when it is being offered for sale by the owner, because the owner has said he does not want the land and that he is selling it. That is the time the Land Commission should investigate to see if the land is suitable for the relief of congestion. If the Land Commission were to do what Deputy Carter suggests they would be leaving the small economic farmers of the country wide open to the world.
Is the Minister not aware that the main problem here is lack of staff to deal quickly with acquisition? This is putting an embargo on sales pending investigation. I agree with Deputy Carter that the problem is widespread. These delays are caused mainly because of lack of staff, and an unfair situation is being created to both vendor and purchaser.
(Cavan): First of all, as the Deputy knows the Land Commission must give a decision within three months, or six months at the outside. With regard to staff, the position has improved very considerably. As I said the other evening, and it was not liked, when I became Minister I found that the recruitment of staff had been suspended in 1970. There were 21 vacancies for outdoor staff. Those have been filled.
Not in our county.
(Cavan): The staff have been strengthened considerably.