LAND ACT, 1939

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE LAND PURCHASE ACTS IN DIVERS RESPECTS AND TO AMEND THE LAW IN RELATION TO THE APPLICATION OF THE INCREASE OF RENT AND MORTGAGE INTEREST (RESTRICTIONS) ACTS, 1923 TO 1930, TO DWELLING-HOUSES OF WHICH THE LAND COMMISSION IS THE LANDLORD. [8th August, 1939.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Short title, construction, and citation.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Land Act, 1939.

• (2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Land Purchase Acts and may be cited with those Acts.

2 “The Minister.”

2.—In this Act the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Lands.

3 Rules and Regulations.

3.—(1) The power of making rules conferred by sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 3 of the Land Act, 1933 (No. 38 of 1933), shall extend to and be exercisable for making rules for carrying into effect the provisions (other than provisions relating to land purchase finance) of this Act.

• (2) The Minister for Finance may make rules and regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act relating to land purchase finance, and may by such rules or regulations adapt to the requirements of this Act any provisions relating to land purchase finance contained in any Act passed before this Act.

• (3) In this Act the word “prescribed” means prescribed by the appropriate rules or regulations authorised by this section.

4 Expenses.

4.—The expenses incurred by the Minister and the payments made and expenses incurred by the Land Commission in the administration of this Act (save in so far as they are otherwise specifically provided for in this Act) shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

5 Exclusion of the Land Commission from the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Acts, 1923 to 1930.

5.—Where the Land Commission is (whether before, at, or after the passing of this Act) the landlord of a dwelling-house, the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Acts, 1923 to 1930, shall not apply or be deemed ever to have applied to such dwelling-house at any time while the Land Commission is or was the landlord thereof.

6 Recovery of moneys due or payable to the Land Commission.

6.—Moneys due or payable to the Land Commission shall have and, save as regards moneys due or payable to the Land Commission as successors to the Commissioners of Church Temporalities in Ireland, shall be deemed always to have had the like rights, privileges, and priorities as are conferred by sub-section (2) of section 38 of the Finance Act, 1924 (No. 27 of 1924), on the moneys to which that sub-section applies.

7 Relief from certain fees in the Land Registry.

7.—(1) No fee shall be payable in the Land Registry by the Land Commission on any registration (whether effected before or after the passing of this Act) pursuant to paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section 23 of the Local Registration of Title (Ireland) Act, 1891.

• (2) No fee shall be payable in the Land Registry—

• (a) on an application for the registration of the Land Commission as owner of any registered land acquired (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by the Land Commission under the Land Purchase Acts, or

• (b) on an application for the registration as owner of any registered land so acquired by the Land Commission of a person to or in whom the Land Commission has transferred or vested such land (otherwise than on or in consequence of a sale of such land by the Land Commission by public auction or private treaty) where the Land Commission is under a statutory duty to procure the registration of such person as owner of such land.

8 Losses on resales of sporting and other rights.

8.—Where the price fixed for the purchase of any sporting rights (including fisheries and fishery rights), grazing rights, rights of turbary, or other rights is such that the said rights cannot be resold without loss, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) the Land Commission at the beginning of each half year shall certify the proportion of the purchase money which represents the difference between the total amount of the advances made for the purchase of the said rights and the total prices for the time being paid or agreed to be paid by purchasers thereof from the Land Commission;

• (b) interest and sinking fund upon the proportion so certified at such rates respectively as shall be directed by the Minister for Finance shall, subject to the approval of that Minister, be paid to the Land Commission out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

9 Grouping of 4½% land bonds for the purpose of drawings.

9.—(1) Regulations made by the Minister for Finance under sub-section (3) of section 1 of the Land Act, 1923, as amended by section 3 of the Land Bond Act, 1925 (No. 25 of 1925), section 3 of the Land Act, 1931, and section 6 of the Land Act, 1936, for the redemption of 4½ per cent. land bonds may provide that, for the purposes of any drawing for the redemption of such land bonds, land bonds of the denomination of ten pounds may be grouped in units of one hundred pounds, and land bonds of the denomination of one pound may be grouped in similar units of one hundred pounds.

• (2) Where such regulations as are mentioned in the foregoing sub-section of this section provide for such grouping of land bonds as is mentioned in that sub-section, such regulations—

• (a) shall provide that such grouping shall be effected on the basis that the land bonds shall be selected for grouping in sequences of ten or one hundred (as the case may be) consecutive numbers, and

• (b) shall provide that, in the case of land bonds of the denomination of ten pounds, the highest number in any such sequence shall be either the appropriate multiple of ten or, where that multiple is not available owing to the land bond bearing it having been drawn for redemption prior to the date of such grouping, the nearest number below such multiple which is available, and

• (c) shall similarly provide that, in the case of land bonds of the denomination of one pound, the highest number in any such sequence shall be either the appropriate multiple of one hundred or, where for the reason aforesaid that multiple is not available, the nearest number below such multiple which is available, and

• (d) may authorise the making of groups of less than ten or one hundred (as the case may be) land bonds where the full number of ten or one hundred land bonds falling to be made into a group is not available owing to land bonds having been drawn for redemption before the date of such grouping.

10 Land Bonds retained as a guarantee deposit.

10.—(1) Sub-section (3) of section 21 of the Land Act, 1931, is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted as follows, that is to say:—

• (a) the dividends on land bonds for the time being retained as a guarantee deposit under the said section 21 and section 54 of the Land Act, 1933, shall be retained with such land bonds and be available for the payments required by law (including this section) to be made thereout;

• (b) notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing paragraph of this sub-section, the Judicial Commissioner may, on the application to him in the prescribed manner of any person claiming to be entitled to the dividends on any land bonds so retained, make such order as to the payment of the said dividends or otherwise as the justice of the case may require;

• (c) where the Judicial Commissioner makes an order under the said section 21 releasing a guarantee deposit, he shall by such order release the dividends retained in pursuance of this section with the land bonds comprising such guarantee deposit.

• (2) Where excess land bonds within the meaning of section 11 of the Land Act, 1936, have been issued in respect of an estate and the funds lodged to the credit of that estate have been allocated (whether wholly or partly) and a guarantee deposit has been retained under section 21 of the Land Act, 1931, as amended by section 54 of the Land Act, 1933, the following provisions shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the said section 21 or any other enactment, that is to say:—

• (a) if the amount of the land bonds in the said guarantee deposit is greater than the amount of the excess land bonds so issued, the Land Commission shall transfer from the said guarantee deposit to the adjustment account mentioned in the said section 11 of the Land Act, 1936, an amount of land bonds equal to the amount of the excess land bonds so issued;

• (b) if the amount of the land bonds in the said guarantee deposit is equal to or less than the amount of the excess land bonds so issued, the Land Commission shall transfer all the land bonds in the said guarantee deposit to the said adjustment account and the vendor or other person liable shall pay to the Land Commission in money the nominal value of an amount of land bonds equal to the difference (if any) between the amount of the excess land bonds so issued and the amount of the land bonds so transferred;

• (c) paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) of sub-section (2) of section 11 of the Land Act, 1936, shall apply and have effect in relation to land bonds transferred to the said adjustment account under this sub-section in like manner as they apply and have effect in relation to land bonds transferred to the said adjustment account under the said section 11;

• (d) where land bonds are transferred under this section from a guarantee deposit to the said adjustment account, if the cash in such guarantee deposit is more than the interest accrued on the land bonds so transferred from the date of the issue thereof to the last day for payment of dividends thereon before the said transfer, the Land Commission shall transfer to the said adjustment account so much of such cash as is equal to such interest, but, if the cash in such guarantee deposit is equal to or less than the said interest, the following provisions shall have effect that is to say:—

• (i) the Land Commission shall transfer the whole of such cash to the said adjustment account, and

• (ii) the balance (if any) of the said interest shall be met by the sale of all or a sufficient amount of the land bonds (if any) in such guarantee deposit not required to be transferred to the said adjustment account under the preceding paragraphs of this sub-section and by transfer of the net proceeds of such sale to the said adjustment account, and

• (iii) any portion of the said interest remaining undischarged shall be paid by the vendor or other person who shall have received the dividends on the land bonds transferred under this sub-section from such guarantee deposit.

• (3) Where excess land bonds within the meaning of section 11 of the Land Act, 1936, have been issued in respect of an estate and the funds lodged to the credit of that estate have been allocated (whether wholly or partly) and either no guarantee deposit has been retained under section 21 of the Land Act, 1931, as amended by section 54 of the Land Act, 1933, or the guarantee deposit so retained is exhausted, the nominal amount of such excess land bonds shall be paid to the Land Commission in money by the vendor or other person liable.

• (4) Where the vendor or other person is required by this section to pay to the Land Commission in money the nominal value or amount of any land bonds, such vendor or other person shall, with the said money, pay to the Land Commission in money a sum equal to the interest on the said land bonds from the date of the issue thereof to the date of the payment of the said money into the land bond fund in pursuance of the next following sub-section of this section.

• (5) Money payable to the Land Commission under paragraph (b) of sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of this section (exclusive of so much of such money as represents interest on land bonds from the date of issue thereof to the last day for the payment of dividends thereon) shall be paid into the land bond fund and shall be disposed of as if it were money paid by a tenant-purchaser in redemption of a purchase annuity payable in respect of an advance made by the issue of land bonds, and thereupon the advance and the State contribution corresponding to the land bonds in respect of which the said money was so payable to the Land Commission shall be written off and cancelled by the Land Commission.

• (6) In addition to the provisions mentioned in sub-section (2) of section 38 of the Land Act, 1933, the provisions of section 11 of the Land Act, 1936, and of this section shall apply to an order made under the said section 38.

11 Amendment of section 36 of the Land Act, 1931.

11.—The references in sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 36 of the Land Act, 1931, to interest at the rate of four and one-half per cent. per annum shall be construed and have effect, and shall be deemed always to have had effect, as references to the rate per cent. per annum at which the dividends on the land bonds transferred to the credit of the relevant estate are payable.

12 Amendment of enactments relating to the costs fund.

12.—Notwithstanding anything contained in section 5 of the Land Act, 1923, section 7 of the Land Bond Act, 1933 (No. 33 of 1933), or section 8 of the Land Bond Act, 1934 (No. 11 of 1934), the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) interest accruing from land bonds in any of the costs funds established under section 5 of the Land Act, 1923, or under that section as applied by section 7 of the Land Bond Act, 1933, or by section 8 of the Land Bond Act, 1934, and also moneys paid into any such fund in redemption of land bonds may from time to time, in so far as not required for the purpose of making payments in cash under this section, be invested in any land bonds whatsoever irrespective of their series;

• (b) whenever a sum is payable under sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Land Act, 1923, or under that sub-section as applied by section 7 of the Land Bond Act, 1933,. or by section 8 of the Land Bond Act, 1934, to a vendor, the Judicial Commissioner may, if he so thinks proper, direct that the said sum shall be paid either (as the Judicial Commissioner shall specify in such direction) wholly or to a specified extent in cash, and, upon such direction being so given, the said sum shall be paid either (as such direction requires) wholly or to the said specified extent in cash and, in the latter case, the residue of the said sum shall be paid as if this section had not been enacted;

• (c) whenever the Judicial Commissioner gives such direction as aforesaid, he shall also, in order to provide the cash for payment in pursuance of such direction, direct that a sufficient amount of land bonds in a specified costs fund (whether the costs fund out of which payment in land bonds would have been made if this section had not been enacted or any other costs fund) be sold for that purpose;

• (d) where the Judicial Commissioner directs, under the next preceding paragraph of this section, land bonds to be sold and there is not a sufficient amount of land bonds in any one costs fund, the Judicial Commissioner may direct that the required amount of land bonds be made up from two or more specified costs funds;

• (e) where at any time, whether owing to the reduction of purchase moneys or otherwise, the total amount of the land bonds of any particular series issued to the costs fund established in relation to that series of land bonds exceeds the amount of two per cent. on the total of the net purchase moneys advanced by means of issues of land bonds of such series, land bonds of the amount of such excess shall be taken out of the said or some other costs fund and cancelled or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall from time to time direct;

• (f) where land bonds are taken out of a costs fund in pursuance of the next preceding paragraph of this section, any interest on such land bonds which had been paid into that costs fund shall be disposed of in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall from time to time direct.

13 Payments to the Land Commission on allocation where there is delay in obtaining possession.

13.—(1) Whenever the purchase money of lands, sporting rights (including fisheries and fishing rights), grazing rights, rights of turbary, or other rights resumed, purchased, or acquired by the Land Commission or the compensation for tenancies, easements, or rights extinguished by the Land Commission has been or is lodged (whether before or after the passing of this Act) to the credit of the relevant matter before the Land Commission has got or gets possession or user of the land, tenancy, easement, or right in respect of which the said purchase money or compensation was or is so lodged, the Land Commission shall, on the allocation of the said purchase money or compensation, be entitled to be paid out of the land bonds representing the said purchase money or compensation and the interest to credit on such land bonds the following moneys, that is to say:—

• (a) all sums paid or payable by the Land Commission into the land bond fund in respect of the said land bonds during or in respect of the period from the issue of the said land bonds to the date on which the Land Commission got or gets possession or user of the land, tenancy, easement, or right;

• (b) all sums which have, before such allocation, been paid by the Land Commission or which the Land Commission is, at the time of such allocation, or becomes thereafter liable to pay on foot of rates in respect of the said land, tenancy, easement, or right for the period from the date of the said lodgment of the said purchase money or compensation to the date on which the Land Commission got or gets possession or user of the said land, tenancy, easement, or right, such rates being deemed for this purpose to accrue from day to day, and

• (c) all costs and expenses incurred by the Land Commission in getting possession or user (whether before or after the date of the said lodgment) of the said land, tenancy, easement, or right.

• (2) All moneys payable to the Land Commission under this section on the allocation of purchase money or compensation shall be so payable in priority to all other payments except—

• (a) payments under section 18 of the Land Act, 1927, to a local authority on foot of arrears of rates in respect of the land, tenancy, easement, or right to which such purchase money or compensation relates, and

• (b) sums payable in respect of the redemption of a purchase annuity charged on the said land, tenancy, easement, or right.

14 Quorum of Land Commissioners.

14.—(1) Nothing done before the passing of this Act by the Land Commission or by one or more of the Land Commissioners, whether in exercise of a statutory power, performance of a statutory duty, or otherwise howsoever, shall be open to challenge or question by objection, appeal, or otherwise on the ground that all the Land Commissioners or a sufficient number of Land Commissioners did not do or join or concur in the doing of such thing.

• (2) Subject to the restriction imposed by the next following sub-section of this section, the powers conferred on the Minister by sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 6 of the Land Act, 1933, shall include power to direct the number of Lay Commissioners whose concurrence is necessary for the exercise or performance of any such power or duty as is mentioned in the said sub-sections or for the doing of any other thing and, in particular, power to direct that any such power or duty may be exercised or performed or any such thing may be done by one Lay Commissioner acting alone.

• (3) The powers imposed by the next preceding sub-section of this section on the Minister shall be subject to the overriding restriction that the concurrence of at least two Lay Commissioners shall be necessary for the doing of any thing which is an excepted matter for the purposes of section 6 of the Land Act, 1933.

• (4) No exercise or performance of any such power or duty as is mentioned in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of section 6 of the Land Act, 1933, and no other thing done after the passing of this Act shall, if such power or duty is exercised or performed or such thing is done with the concurrence of the number of Lay Commissioners directed in that behalf by the Minister under this section or, where the Minister has lawfully so directed under this section, by one Lay Commissioner acting alone, be open to challenge or question by objection, appeal, or otherwise on the ground that a sufficient number of Lay Commissioners did not concur in such exercise or performance or in the doing of such thing.

• (5) Where a decision is made or given by a majority of the Land Commissioners concerned therein, the dissenting minority of such Land Commissioners shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to concur in such decision, and the words “concur” and “concurrence” shall in this section be construed accordingly.

15 Questions of law arising before the Lay Commissioners.

15.—Every provision of the Land Purchase Acts whereby a right to require the Lay Commissioners to state a case in respect of a question of law is conferred is hereby repealed, and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted as follows, that is to say:—

• (a) whenever a question of law arises in any proceedings under the Land Purchase Acts before the Lay Commissioners, any person aggrieved by the decision of the Lay Commissioners on that question may appeal from such decision to the Appeal Tribunal;

• (b) an appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court from the decision of the Appeal Tribunal on an appeal under the next preceding paragraph of this section;

• (c) the Lay Commissioners may, if and whenever they so think proper, state a case for the decision of the Judicial Commissioner in respect of any question of law arising in any proceedings before them under the Land Purchase Acts.

16 Payment of compensation for expense of applications, etc.

16.—(1) Section 26 of the Land Act, 1936, is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that whenever an order is made by Lay Commissioners it shall be lawful for such Lay Commissioners, if they so think proper, to direct that the Land Commission shall pay to a specified person such sum as such Lay Commissioners shall, in their absolute discretion, fix in that behalf by way of compensation for the expense incurred by such person in relation to the application, objection, or other proceeding leading to such order.

• (2) Every sum which is directed by Lay Commissioners under this section to be paid by the Land Commission to any person shall be paid in accordance with such direction as part of the expenses of the Land Commission.

17 Power of Lay Commissioners to award costs.

17.—(1) In any proceedings heard and determined by Lay Commissioners, such Lay Commissioners may direct that the costs and expenses as measured by such Lay Commissioners or, where they so think proper, as taxed by a taxing master of the High Court, of any party to such proceedings shall be paid by another party thereto and such Lay Commissioners may also, on the application of such first mentioned party, issue an order for the levying of the amount (as so measured or taxed) of such costs and expenses together with the costs of obtaining such order.

• (2) Every order made by Lay Commissioners under this section shall be executed by the under-sheriff in like manner as if it were an execution order within the meaning of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 (No. 18 of 1926).

18 Amendments of lists of vested holdings.

18.—(1) Where the Land Commission propose to make, in a list of vested holdings published in pursuance of section 9 of the Land Act, 1931, an amendment which is consequent upon or required by an order of the Lay Commissioners, the Appeal Tribunal, or a Court of Justice, the Land Commission may make such amendment without giving the notice required by sub-section (2) of section 10 of the said Act.

• (2) Where, under the foregoing sub-section of this section, the Land Commission amend without notice a list of vested holdings, any objection to such amendment which, but for this section, could have been made under sub-section (3) of section 10 of the Land Act, 1931, may be made by way of objection to the appropriate vesting order under section 12 of the said Act.

19 Obligation on allottees of holdings and parcels to reside thereon in certain cases.

19.—Where a holding or parcel of land includes a dwelling-house and such holding or parcel either was allotted to but not vested in a purchaser before the passing of this Act or is allotted to a purchaser after the passing of this Act, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) it shall be obligatory upon such purchaser to take up residence in such dwellinghouse within three months (or such longer period as the Land Commission, if they so think proper, shall sanction) after the date on which the Land Commission direct him so to do;

• (b) save as is otherwise provided in the next following paragraph of this section, such holding or parcel shall not be vested in such purchaser unless he takes up residence in such dwelling-house before the expiration of the said three months or longer period;

• (c) the Land Commission may, at any time before the expiration of the said three months or longer period aforesaid, waive the said obligation on such purchaser to take up residence in such dwellinghouse and may, at any time after such waiver, vest such holding or parcel in such purchaser notwithstanding that he has not taken up residence in such dwelling-house;

• (d) if, upon the expiration of the said three months or such longer period as aforesaid, the Land Commission have not waived the said obligation and such purchaser has not taken up residence in such dwelling-house, the Land Commission shall demand and recover possession of such holding or parcel freed and discharged from any claim by such purchaser.

20 Sale of defaulter's holding or parcel discharged from arrears.

20.—(1) Section 9 of the Land Act, 1936, is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that where the Land Commission, on account of a default in the payment of any money, a breach of condition, or any other default, has obtained possession of a holding or taken up from an allottee a parcel of land, and there is any money owing to the Land Commission in respect of such holding or parcel on account of any purchase or other annuity, rent, interest, or other payment whatsoever, the Land Commission may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, resell such holding or reallot such parcel discharged from the whole or a specified part of the money so owing and shall, on such resale or reallotment, write off as irrecoverable the money so owing or the portion thereof from which such holding or parcel is so discharged.

• (2) This section shall be deemed to have come into operation immediately after the passing of the Land Act, 1936, and shall have and be deemed to have had effect accordingly.

21 Amendment of section 33 of the Land Act, 1936.

21.—(1) Where, in a case to which section 33 of the Land Act, 1936, applies, the agreement or undertaking by the allottee to purchase the parcel is signed (whether before or after the passing of the said Act) before the parcel is vested in the Land Commission, the said section 33 shall have effect as if the date of the vesting of the parcel in the Land Commission were substituted in the said section for the date of the said agreement or undertaking to purchase.

• (2) This section shall have and be deemed always to have had effect as from the passing of the Land Act, 1936.

22 Grants in connection with transfers of ex-employees.

22.—(1) The powers of the Land Commission to expend money for the benefit or improvement of land purchased or agreed to be purchased under the Land Purchase Acts shall, in any case which the Land Commission think proper, extend to and include—

• (a) the grant of such sums as the Land Commission may think fit for or towards the expenses of transferring any person, who by reason of the sale of any lands under the Land Purchase Acts has been deprived of his employment on such lands, to a parcel of land allotted to him in consequence of such loss of employment, and

• (b) the grant of such sums as the Land Commission may think fit for or towards the expenses of bringing any such person to inspect a parcel of land proposed to be allotted to him.

• (2) This section shall have and be deemed to have had effect as on and from the 1st day of January, 1937.

23 Restrictions on sale, etc., of holdings and parcels provided for enlargement of holdings.

23.—(1) Where a holding or a parcel of land is provided for a purchaser for the enlargement of the holding (in this section referred to as the original holding) purchased by him or any of his predecessors in title and the holding or parcel so provided has not been consolidated with the original holding, it shall not be lawful for such purchaser (whether such holding or parcel and the original holding are or are not or either of them is or is not vested in him) to sell, sub-let, or sub-divide without the consent of the Land Commission the original holding or the holding or parcel so provided.

• (2) Every sale, sub-letting, or sub-division of a holding or a parcel of land in contravention of this section shall be null and void.

24 Partition of holdings held in commonage.

24.—(1) This section applies to every holding—

• (a) the whole or an undivided share or undivided shares of which is or are purchased under the Land Purchase Acts or is or are subject to a purchase agreement entered or deemed to have been entered into under those Acts, and

• (b) which is held by two or more persons (in this section referred to as owners in common) in common, whether as joint tenants or as tenants in common.

• (2) Where all the owners in common of a holding to which this section applies apply to the Land Commission for leave to partition such holding and submit a scheme for such partition, the Land Commission may, if they so think proper, authorise the partition of such holding in accordance with such scheme and may by order confirm such scheme and apportion as may be requisite the purchase annuity or other annual payment (if any) payable in respect of the whole of such holding.

• (3) Where one or more but not all of the owners in common of a holding to which this section applies apply to the Land Commission for a compulsory partition of such holding, the Land Commission, after serving the prescribed notices and making such investigations as they consider necessary, may, if they so think proper, prepare a scheme for the partition of such holding amongst the owners in common thereof and for the apportionment of the purchase annuity or other annual payment (if any) payable in respect thereof.

• (4) Where the Land Commission prepares a scheme under the next preceding sub-section of this section, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) the Land Commission shall serve on every of the owners in common a notice stating the particulars of such scheme and the manner in which and the time within which objections thereto may be lodged;

• (b) if no objections to such scheme are duly lodged, the Land Commission shall, on the expiration of the time for lodging such objections, by order confirm such scheme;

• (c) if any objections to such scheme are duly lodged, such objections shall be heard and determined by the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal);

• (d) an appeal shall lie to the Appeal Tribunal from every decision of the Lay Commissioners under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section, and the decision of the Appeal Tribunal on such appeal shall be final, save that an appeal shall lie on questions of law to the Supreme Court from such decision of the Appeal Tribunal;

• (e) when all such objections have been finally determined, the Land Commission shall do whichever of the following things is appropriate having regard to the decisions on such objections, that is to say:—

• (i) by order confirm such scheme without modification, or

• (ii) make in such scheme such modifications as are required by such decisions and by order confirm such scheme as so modified, or

• (iii) cancel such scheme.

• (5) An order of the Land Commission confirming a scheme under this section shall operate to make each of the owners in common of the holding to which such scheme relates the owner or tenant in severalty (subject to the terms and conditions stated in such scheme) of the portion of such holding allotted to him by such scheme and to apportion in such manner as is stated in such order or in such scheme the purchase annuity or other annual payment (if any) payable in respect of the whole of such holding.

25 Arrears and revision of instalments of certain loans made by the Congested Districts Board.

25.—(1) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to proceedings by the Land Commission for recovery of arrears of instalments to which this section applies which were due and owing on the 13th day of October, 1933, that is to say:—

• (a) no such proceedings shall be begun after the passing of this Act;

• (b) any judgment or decree for the payment of any such arrears obtained in any such proceeding but not executed before the passing of this Act, shall, immediately upon such passing, become and be void and unenforceable;

• (c) no such proceeding which was begun before and is pending at the passing of this Act shall be further prosecuted or proceeded with by the Land Commission after such passing unless a defence was filed or entered in such proceeding before such passing.

• (2) As soon as may be after the passing of this Act, the Land Commission shall, in every case in which arrears of instalments to which this section applies were due and owing on the 13th day of October, 1933, ascertain, in respect of each case, the amount of such arrears which were so due and owing, and immediately upon such ascertainment—

• (a) in every case in which the amount so ascertained of such arrears does not exceed three times the yearly amount of such instalments, such arrears shall be payable at such times as the Land Commission shall by regulations prescribe, and

• (b) in every other case, the amount so ascertained of such arrears as is equal to three times the yearly amount of such instalments shall be payable at such times as the Land Commission shall by regulations prescribe, and the residue of such arrears shall not be payable.

• (3) All payments received by the Land Commission after the 13th day of October, 1933, on account of arrears due and owing on that date in respect of any instalments to which this section applies shall be treated as payments on account of the amount payable in respect of such arrears of such instalments ascertained in accordance with the next preceding sub-section of this section, and all sums so received by the Land Commission on account of such arrears in excess of the amount payable as aforesaid shall be repaid or credited as against unpaid instalments accrued due since the said date.

• (4) The amount payable in respect of any instalment to which this section applies accruing after the first gale day in the year 1933 (whether before or after the passing of this Act) shall be and, in the case of any such instalment which accrued before the passing of this Act, be deemed always to have been fifty per cent. and no more of the full amount of such instalment.

• (5) An instalment revised in pursuance of the next preceding sub-section of this section may be redeemed in whole or in part, in like manner in all respects as it could have been redeemed if not revised under this section, save that the sum payable for such redemption shall be reduced by fifty per cent.

• (6) This section applies to instalments in repayment of loans made by the former Congested Districts Board for the purchase of land and the buildings (if any) thereon.

26 Amendment of sub-section (1) of section 18 of the Land Act, 1933.

26.—(1) Where an application under sub-section (1) of section 18 of the Land Act, 1933, is made after the passing of this Act and is granted, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) the amount of arrears (if any) to be ascertained by the Land Commission in pursuance of the said sub-section shall be the amount of the arrears of the relevant annual payment which, on the date of the order made by the Land Commission on such application, are due and owing in respect of gales accrued due on or before the gale day next preceding that date, and

• (b) the revision in accordance with the said sub-section of the said annual payment shall apply only to all gales thereof accruing after the gale day next preceding the date of the said order.

• (2) Nothing contained in sub-section (2) of section 18 of the Land Act, 1933, shall prevent the enforcement of any judgment or decree for the recovery of arrears of an annual payment to which the said section applies where such judgment or decree is obtained before an order is made under sub-section (1) of the said section in respect of such annual payment.

27 Amendment of sub-section (8) of section 18 of the Land Act, 1933.

27.—Sub-section (8) of section 18 of the Land Act, 1933, is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that Part III of the said Act shall not apply or have effect in relation—

• (a) to a purchase annuity or an additional sum in repayment of an advance made under section 39 of the Land Act, 1923, for the redemption of a superior interest which is an annual payment to which the said section 18 applies, or

• (b) to a purchase annuity, annual sum, or additional sum (including a portion of a purchase annuity, annual sum, or additional sum) in repayment of an advance made under section 44 of the Land Act, 1931, as amended by section 42 of the Land Act, 1933, sections 42 and 43 of the Land Act, 1936, and this Act for the purchase of a parcel of untenanted land held by the owner thereof under a perpetuity rent to which the said section 18 applies,

where such superior interest or perpetuity rent (as the case may be) was revised under the said section 18 or under that section as amended by this Act before the said advance was made.

28 Amendment of sub-section (10) of section 18 of the Land Act, 1933.

28.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (10) of section 18 of the Land Act, 1933, an application may be made to the Land Commission under sub-section (1) of that section for the revision (but not for the funding of arrears) of either—

• (a) a tithe rent-charge payable out of land which, at the passing of the said Land Act, 1933, was not subject to a purchase annuity but has (either before or after the passing of this Act) become before the date of such application subject to a purchase annuity to which section 18 of the said Land Act, 1933, applies, or

• (b) fixed annual instalments in lieu of tithe rent-charge payable out of any such lands as are mentioned in the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section.

• (2) Where an application is made by virtue of this section to the Land Commission under section 18 of the Land Act, 1933, all the provisions of that section as amended by this Act (save in so far as they relate to the funding of arrears) shall apply and have effect as if the tithe rent-charge or fixed annual instalments in lieu of tithe rent-charge to which such application relates were an annual payment to which the said section 18 applies otherwise than by virtue of this section.

29 Amendments in respect of tithe rent-charges and variable rents in Dublin.

29.—Where—

• (a) a tithe rent-charge or variable rent to which section 49 of the Land Act, 1933, applies has been varied once or oftener under and in accordance with sections 2 and 3 of the Tithe Rentcharge (Ireland) Act, 1900, or those sections as applied by section 90 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, or section 49 of the Land Act, 1931, and

• (b) such tithe rent-charge or variable rent has not been varied under and in accordance with both section 49 of the Land Act, 1931, and either sections 2 and 3 of the Tithe Rentcharge (Ireland) Act, 1900, or those sections as applied by section 90 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, and

• (c) the sum payable in respect of the gale which accrued due next before the 1st day of November, 1933, of such tithe rent-charge or variable rent exceeded sixty-two per cent. of the amount of the gale which accrued due next before the occasion or the first of the occasions (as the case may be) on which such tithe rent-charge or variable rent was varied as aforesaid,

then and in every such case, in the application of section 49 of the Land Act, 1931, to such tithe rent-charge or variable rent the modifications mentioned in paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section 49 of the Land Act, 1933, shall, as from the passing of this Act, cease to have effect, and in lieu thereof the said section 49 of the Land Act, 1931, shall apply to such tithe rent-charge or variable rent with the following modifications, that is to say:—

• (i) the 1st day of November, 1938, shall be substituted for the 1st day of November, 1930, wherever it occurs, and

• (ii) the 2nd day of November, 1938, shall be substituted for the 2nd day of November, 1930, and

• (iii) such percentage shall be substituted for ninety-two per cent. as will give a reduction of thirty-eight per cent. of the sum which was payable in respect of the gale which accrued due next before the occasion or the first of the occasions (as the case may be) on which such tithe rent-charge or variable rent was varied as aforesaid.

30 Amendments in respect of expenditure for improvements.

30.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3) of section 22 of the Land Act, 1927, and without prejudice to their powers under sub-section (5) of section 44 of the Land Act, 1923, as amended by section 44 of the Land Act, 1933, where the Land Commission sanction the expenditure by way of free grant of money for the benefit or improvement of any lands, the Land Commission may, unless such expenditure is substantially for the benefit or improvement of lands already vested in purchasers, make such expenditure at their discretion, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, as part of the expenses of the Land Commission.

• (2) Where the Land Commission sanction expenditure of money for the benefit or improvement of any lands not vested in a purchaser and, in their discretion, consider that it would be for the benefit and improvement of those lands that the money should be actually expended on works on other lands, such expenditure may be made accordingly in respect of such works on such other lands as if they were works on the lands for the benefit or improvement of which such expenditure was sanctioned.

• (3) Where money expended in pursuance of the immediately preceding sub-section of this section is made repayable by means of an annuity, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) such annuity shall, where the circumstances so admit, be consolidated with the annuity (if any) on the lands on which the works in respect of which such money was expended were carried out and, until such consolidation has been effected, the said lands shall not be transferred without the consent of the Land Commission;

• (b) where consolidation as aforesaid cannot be effected, the Land Commission may make an order charging the said lands with the repayment, at such rate of interest and in such manner as may be prescribed by the Minister for Finance, of the advance made for the purchase of the lands for the benefit or improvement of which such money was expended and of such money itself, together with interest;

• (c) whenever an order is made under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section charging any lands, the Land Commission shall have the same remedies for the recovery of the moneys (including interest as well as principal) secured by such charge as they have for recovery of unpaid instalments of a purchase annuity.

31 Construction of section 44 of the Land Act, 1933.

31.—The following provisions shall apply and have effect and be deemed always to have applied and had effect in relation to the construction of the reference in section 44 of the Land Act, 1933, to the total expenditure proposed to be made by the Land Commission in or towards the reconstruction of any work, that is to say:—

• (a) there shall be included in the said total expenditure the total amount proposed to be expended in or towards a reconstruction which is to be executed on one occasion to one watercourse, drain, embankment, or other work and constitutes a single operation of reconstruction of that work, whether such single operation consists of a single piece or item of reconstruction done in one particular place or part of the said work or of a number of pieces or items of reconstruction done at different places or parts of the said work;

• (b) there shall not be included in such total expenditure any money proposed to be expended in or towards the reconstruction of the said watercourse, drain, embankment, or other work on another occasion (whether past or future) or to be expended in the course of a different operation of reconstruction of the said work;

• (c) there shall not be included in such total expenditure any expenditure proposed to be made in respect of another watercourse, drain, embankment, or other work.

32 Additional facilities for the exchange of holdings.

32.—(1) The registered owner of any holding, whether registered as full owner or as limited owner, shall have power to enter into an agreement with the Land Commission for an exchange of holdings for the purpose of facilitating the resale of land by the Land Commission to any of the persons or bodies mentioned in section 31 of the Land Act, 1923, or in that section as extended by sub-section (2) of section 33 of the Land Act, 1933.

• (2) An agreement for the exchange of holdings made under this section may be carried out under and in accordance with section 46 of the Land Act, 1923, as amended by this Act, and the said section 46 as so amended shall apply and have effect accordingly.

33 Power to ratify exchanges of portions of holdings.

33.—(1) Where it appears in the course of proceedings for sale under the Land Purchase Acts that a tenant of a holding is in occupation of portion of an adjoining holding and that the tenant of such adjoining holding is in occupation of portion of the first mentioned holding, whether such exchange of occupation is the result of an agreement or is occasioned by the alteration of the course of a stream, the making of a road, or any other event or thing, then and in such case, the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal), if they think it expedient so to do, may, with the consent of all parties concerned or on notice in the prescribed manner and giving all parties an opportunity of being heard, make an order ratifying the said exchange.

• (2) Upon the making of an order under this section ratifying an exchange, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) the land taken by either tenant upon such exchange shall be deemed to be held by the same tenure, and shall, without any conveyance or other assurance in relation thereto, go and enure to and upon the same uses and trusts and be subject to the same payments, conditions, charges, and incumbrances as those upon and to which it would have stood limited and been subject if it had always formed part of the holding of such tenant, and

• (b) all rights and remedies for the recovery of payments in respect of the land taken by either tenant on such exchange shall be exercisable in respect of, and may be pursued against, the land taken by the other tenant on such exchange in the same manner as they might have been exercised or pursued (if such exchange had never taken place) against the land originally liable thereto.

• (3) Every objection duly made to the making of an order under this section shall be heard and determined by the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) subject to a right of appeal to the Appeal Tribunal.

• (4) The decision of the Appeal Tribunal on an appeal under this section shall be final subject only to appeal to the Supreme Court on questions of law.

34 Funding annuities on exchange of holdings.

34.—Where, in consequence of the exchange under the Land Purchase Acts of a holding purchased under any Land Purchase Act prior to the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1891, for a new holding, a funding annuity is, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (c) of section 21 of the Land Act, 1933, or of section 8 of the Land Act, 1936, and whether before or after the passing of this Act, transferred from the holding on which it was originally charged to the new holding and consolidated with the annuity on that holding, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) the whole of the consolidated annuity shall be paid into the same fund as that into which the annuity on the new holding is payable and, if payable into the land bond fund, shall be subject to the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 27 of the Land Act, 1933;

• (b) any deficiency, arising from the application of this section, in the fund into which such funding annuity was payable before the holding on which it was previously charged was exchanged for the new holding shall be made good to such fund at such times and in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

35 Transfer of certain charges on exchange or rearrangement of holdings or parcels.

35.—(1) Where a holding or parcel (in this sub-section referred to as the original holding or parcel) is subject to a charge (in this section referred to as the original charge) which is made under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts, 1929 and 1934, the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, 1890 to 1931, the Labourers' Acts, 1883 to 1937, or the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, 1899 to 1931, as amended by the Housing Acts, 1925 to 1931, and the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932, or is made under the Public Works (Ireland) Acts, 1831 to 1886, for the erection or improvement of houses, offices, or farm buildings, or is a permanent improvement charge under the Agricultural Credit Acts, 1927 to 1929, and such original holding or parcel is exchanged for a new holding or parcel under section 23 of the Irish Land Act, 1909, or section 46 of the Land Act, 1923, or section 29 of the Land Act, 1931, or is re-arranged by the Land Commission, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) if the premises erected or the premises or land improved by means of the loan secured by the original charge are included under the exchange or re-arrangement in a holding or parcel of not less value than the original holding or parcel, the Land Commission may, if satisfied that the holding or parcel which includes the premises so erected or the premises or land so improved is security for the loan secured by the original charge or the balance thereof remaining unrepaid, by order transfer the original charge (with priority as of the date on which it was originally created) to the last-mentioned holding or parcel and charge that holding or parcel therewith with the priority aforesaid and in exoneration of the original holding or parcel or so much thereof as is not included in the said holding or parcel to which such transfer is made;

• (b) if the premises erected or the premises improved by means of the loan secured by the original charge are included under the exchange or re-arrangement in a holding or parcel of less value than the original holding or parcel, the Land Commission shall redeem the original charge in whole or in part and, if they redeem part only of the original charge, shall by order transfer the unredeemed portion of the original charge to the holding or parcel in which such premises are included and charge that holding or parcel therewith in exoneration of the original holding or parcel or so much thereof as is not included in the said holding or parcel to which such transfer is made;

• (c) if, under the exchange or re-arrangement, the land improved by means of the loan secured by the original charge is included in a holding or parcel which is of less value than the original holding or parcel or is divided so as to constitute or form part of two or more holdings or parcels, the Land Commission may redeem the original charge in whole or in part, and shall (unless they redeem the whole of the original charge) transfer the original charge or the unredeemed part thereof either (as the case may be) to the holding or parcel in which the said land is included or in apportioned parts to and amongst the several holdings or parcels in which any part of the said land is included, and, in either case, shall charge the holding or parcel or every of the holdings or parcels to which the original charge or any part thereof is so transferred with the payment of so much of the original charge as is so transferred to it in exoneration of the original holding.

• (2) Where a holding or parcel of land is subject to a charge under the Public Works (Ireland) Acts, 1831 to 1886, other than a charge for the erection or improvement of houses, offices, or farm buildings, and such holding or parcel is exchanged for a new holding or parcel under section 23 of the Irish Land Act, 1909, or section 46 of the Land Act, 1923, or section 29 of the Land Act, 1931, or is re-arranged by the Land Commission, such charge shall not be transferred to the new or re-arranged holding or parcel but may be redeemed or be apportioned between different portions of the first-mentioned holding or parcel.

• (3) Where a charge has been apportioned under the immediately preceding sub-section of this section, the Commissioners of Public Works may require the Land Commission to redeem any one or more of the apportioned parts of such charge and the Land Commission shall redeem such one or more parts accordingly.

• (4) All moneys required by the Land Commission for the purpose of redeeming charges under this section shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas as part of the expenses of the Land Commission.

• (5) Every question arising under this section as to—

• (a) the value of the subject of any charge,

• (b) the value of a new or re-arranged holding,

• (c) the security for a charge or portion of a charge proposed to be transferred by order under this section,

• (d) the apportionment of any charge, or

• (e) the amount which should be redeemed of any charge,

shall be determined by the Judicial Commissioner whose decision shall be final.

• (6) Sub-section (2) of section 23 of the Irish Land Act, 1909, the relevant provisions of sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 46 of the Land Act, 1923, and paragraph (c) of section 29 and section 33 of the Land Act, 1931, shall not apply in respect of any case in respect of which the provisions of this section are applicable.

• (7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the incidence of or altering the liability for any arterial drainage charge or any drainage maintenance charge.

36 Applications and orders under section 37 of the Land Act, 1936.

36.—(1) Where the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) make in respect of any land such order as is authorised by sub-section (1) of section 37 of the Land Act, 1936, or such order as is authorised by sub-section (3) of that section, the power conferred by section 38 of the Land Act, 1933, on the Land Commission, in the circumstances therein mentioned, to fix the standard purchase annuity in the manner therein provided shall be exercisable in relation to such land, but for the purposes of such exercise the reference in the said section 38 to the 9th day of August, 1923, shall be construed as a reference to the date of the said order under sub-section (1) or sub-section (3), as the case may be, of the said section 37.

• (2) Where an application made under sub-section (3) of section 37 of the Land Act, 1936, as amended by this Act, is granted, the standard purchase annuity set up in consequence of the granting of such application shall not exceed the rent reserved by or actually paid and accepted in substitution for the rent reserved by the fee farm grant or lease under which the parcel to which such application relates was held by the applicant at the date of the order granting such application or, where that fee farm grant or lease comprised other land in addition to the land in respect of which the said application is granted, the part of the said rent apportioned by the Land Commission on the said parcel.

• (3) Sub-section (6) of section 37 of the Land Act, 1936, is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (4) of section 9 of the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1891, or in paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923, the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) shall not be precluded from making an order under the said section 37 in respect of a parcel of untenanted land by reason only of the fact that such parcel constitutes or forms part of a holding vested under the Land Purchase Acts in the owner (subject to a purchase annuity payable by such owner) of the fee farm grant, lease, or tenancy under which the parcel of land to which the application relates is held by the applicant, but in every such case the provisions of section 14 of the Land Act, 1923, shall apply and have effect in respect of the annuity set up in repayment of the original advance.

37 Compounded arrears of rent and payments in lieu of rent in certain cases.

37.—(1) Where the particulars required by section 22 of the Land Act, 1923, to be furnished to the Land Commission have not been so furnished before, but are so furnished after, the passing of this Act in respect of a holding or a part of a holding to which the provisions of that Act (as amended by subsequent Acts) apply, or where a parcel of land becomes vested in the Land Commission by virtue of an order of the Land Commission granting an application under section 44 of the Land Act, 1931, (as amended by subsequent Acts and this Act), the following provisions shall have effect in relation to such holding, part of a holding, or parcel (as the case may be), that is to say:—

• (a) the arrears of the rent payable by the tenant or owner in respect of such holding, part of a holding, or parcel which accrued due after the gale day next preceding the date on which the said particulars are furnished or the said application is lodged (as the case may be) or after such gale day prior to the said date as will permit three years' arrears of rent to be compounded (whichever of those gale days is the earlier) and are unpaid on the appointed day, together with an apportioned gale of such rent from the gale day next before the appointed day up to the appointed day, shall be compounded by the addition of compounded arrears of rent to the purchase money of such holding, part of a holding, or parcel;

• (b) subject to the subsequent provisions of this sub-section, the amount of the compounded arrears of rent to be added to the purchase money in pursuance of the foregoing paragraph of this sub-section shall be seventy-five per cent. of the arrears (including the apportioned gale) required by that paragraph to be compounded;

• (c) no arrears of the said rent which accrued due on or before the gale day from which the arrears to be compounded are to be calculated shall be payable by such tenant or owner;

• (d) where any payment on account of the rent of such holding, part of a holding, or parcel is received by the landlord thereof after the date on which the said particulars are furnished or the said application is lodged (as the case may be), the compounded arrears of rent in respect of such holding, part of a holding, or parcel, shall be reduced by an amount equal to twenty-five per cent. of such payment, and all sums so received by such landlord in excess of the total amount of the rent the arrears of which are to be compounded under the foregoing paragraphs of this sub-section shall be recoverable by the tenant or owner from such landlord as a claim against the purchase money.

• (2) The following enactments shall not apply or have effect in any case in which the provisions of the foregoing sub-section of this section have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) sub-sections (1), (2), (3), and (5) of section 19 and section 20 of the Land Act, 1923;

• (b) so much of section 10 of the Land Act, 1927, as applies the provisions of section 20 of the Land Act, 1923, to cases within the said section 10;

• (c) section 12 of the Land Act, 1927;

• (d) paragraphs (b) and (c) of sub-section (3) of section 44 of the Land Act, 1931;

• (e) sub-section (7) of section 42 of the Land Act, 1933;

• (f) paragraph (a) of sub-section (5) of section 37, paragraph (b) of sub-section (3) of section 40, and paragraphs (f) and (g) of section 43 of the Land Act, 1936.

38 Extension and amendment of section 10 of the Land Act, 1927.

38.—The following provisions shall have effect in relation to section 10 of the Land Act, 1927, that is to say:—

• (a) in addition to the tenanted land mentioned in the said section 10, that section shall apply and have effect in respect of tenanted land constituting or forming part of a holding purchased under any Land Purchase Act passed prior to the Land Act, 1923, where the tenancy was created on or after the 1st day of September, 1922, and before the 10th day of August, 1923;

• (b) where a tenant on tenanted land to which the said section 10 applies has not applied (either before or after the passing of this Act) under that section to have his tenancy brought within those provisions of the Land Act, 1923, in virtue of which land is vested in the Land Commission as tenanted land on the appointed day, a sub-tenant of such tenant shall be at liberty to apply under the said section 10 to have his sub-tenancy brought within the said provisions, and, where such sub-tenant so applies, the said section 10 (as amended by this section) shall have effect in relation to such application in like manner as it would have effect in relation to a like application by his immediate landlord;

• (c) the next preceding section shall apply and have effect in relation to tenanted land in respect of which the said section 10 has effect by virtue of this section as fully in all respects as the said next preceding section applies and has effect in the cases mentioned in sub-section (1) thereof.

39 Resumption of holdings.

39.—(1) It is hereby declared and enacted that the Land Commission have and shall have power to resume, in whole or in part, for any one or more of the following purposes, any holding vested under the Land Purchase Acts in them or in the late Congested Districts Board for Ireland, that is to say:—

• (a) for the purpose of relieving congestion as defined in sub-section (4) of section 73 of the Land Act, 1923;

• (b) for the purpose of the provision of land for resale to any of the persons or bodies mentioned in section 31 of the Land Act, 1923, as amended by sub-section (2) of section 33 of the Land Act, 1933;

• (c) for the purpose of increasing the food supply of the country;

• (d) for the purpose of improving or rearranging the holding.

• (2) The following provisions shall have effect whenever the Land Commission proposes to apply to the Appeal Tribunal for leave to resume a holding or part of a holding, that is to say:—

• (a) the Land Commission shall give in the prescribed manner to the person appearing to be in occupation of the holding or of the said part thereof notice that the Land Commission propose to apply for leave to resume under the first sub-section of this section the holding or the said part thereof (as the case may be) and that the person to whom such notice is given may, within the prescribed time, present to the Land Commission a petition that the holding or the said part thereof be not resumed without further inquiry;

• (b) if such petition as is mentioned in the said notice is presented to the Land Commission within the prescribed time, such petition shall be considered and all questions arising under it shall be decided by the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) and the decision of those Commissioners shall be final subject only to an appeal to the Appeal Tribunal on a question of law;

• (c) if no such petition is presented within the prescribed time or if such petition is so presented and is refused, the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) may certify that the holding or the said part thereof (as the case may be) is required by the Land Commission for such one or more of the purposes mentioned in sub-section (1) of this section as shall be specified in that behalf in such certificate;

• (d) the said certificate shall be conclusive evidence that the holding or the said part thereof (as the case may be) is required by the Land Commission for a purpose for which the resumption thereof can lawfully be authorised, and upon receipt of the said certificate the Appeal Tribunal shall authorise the resumption of the holding or the said part thereof, as the case may be.

• (3) Whenever the Appeal Tribunal authorises, under the foregoing sub-section of this section, the Land Commission to resume a holding or a part of a holding and the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) certify that it is expedient that such holding or part of a holding should immediately be available for distribution or for the carrying out of improvements with a view to distribution, the Appeal Tribunal shall authorise the Land Commission to enter into possession of such holding or part of a holding notwithstanding that the resumption price may not have been fixed.

• (4) Whenever the Land Commission, by virtue of an authority given by the Appeal Tribunal under the next preceding sub-section of this section, enters into possession of a holding or a part of a holding before the resumption price thereof has been fixed, there shall be paid to the person entitled to such resumption price—

• (a) if such resumption price is payable in land bonds, interest (less income tax) on such resumption price at the rate at which the interest on such land bonds is payable from the date on which the Land Commission so enters into possession to the date of the issue of such land bonds, or

• (b) if such resumption price is payable in cash, interest (less income tax) on such resumption price at such rate as the Minister for Finance shall direct from the date on which the Land Commission so enters into possession to the date on which such resumption price is paid.

• (5) It is hereby declared and enacted that whenever the Land Commission resumes a holding or part of a holding, the following provisions apply and shall apply and have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) the resumption price of such holding or part of a holding, that is to say, the compensation to be paid therefor by the Land Commission, shall be the market value of the holding or part of a holding so resumed;

• (b) section 43 of the Land Act, 1931, shall apply and have effect in relation to a resumption price fixed under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section and, for the purpose of such application the words “basis on which resumption prices have heretofore been fixed” in the said section 43 shall be deemed to mean the market price of the holding or part of a holding so resumed;

• (c) where the Land Commission, in pursuance of the next following sub-section of this section, acquires other land from the tenant of the resumed holding, the foregoing provisions of this sub-section shall apply to the price to be paid by the Land Commission for such other land as if such price were a resumption price.

• (6) Where the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) are satisfied in respect of a holding that, having regard to the area, situation, and character of such holding, the amount of congestion and of unemployment existing in the district in which such holding is situate and in the country generally, and the desirability of increasing the production of food supplies, an adequate amount of agricultural products is being produced on such holding and an adequate amount of employment (including in such amount the employment of any relatives of the tenant of such holding who are permanently employed thereon) is being provided on such holding, then and in such case the following provisions shall apply and have effect, that is to say:—