Page:The Irish land acts; a short sketch of their history and development.djvu/48

36  money given above will, in the event, be materially reduced. It is not possible to estimate the number of "holdings unsold"—i.e., the number of portions of land in respect of which separate advances may ultimately be made under the Land Purchase Acts. The Acts of 1903 and 1909 contain special provisions enabling the Estates Commissioners and the Congested Districts Board to acquire untenanted land, and to divide it up into allotments, and it is not possible to calculate how much untenanted land may be so acquired or to estimate the number of holdings into which it may be divided. At present, where an owner is in possession of untenanted land, it is usually returned in the published statistics as one holding.

Untenanted lands acquired by the Commissioners, also tenanted lands surrendered by migrants, etc., on allotment of new holdings, are utilised either in the enlargement of existing holdings or in providing new holdings. Particulars of the allotments made up to 31st March, 1916, are given by Provinces in the following table:—

As appears from the twenty-third Report of the Congested Districts Board, in the period ending 31st March, 1916, have utilised 62,680 acres of untenanted lands, of which 25,691 acres have been used to enlarge 1,387 existing holdings, and the remainder—36,989 acres—to create 1,151 new holdings.

Two Classes of Occupiers of Land in Ireland—Economic and Uneconomic.

The occupiers of Irish agricultural holdings are of two classes—those having economic and those having uneconomic farms. By an economic holding I mean one of sufficient pro-