Land Act, 1936

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Number 41 of 1936.

LAND ACT, 1936.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Number 41 of 1936.

LAND ACT, 1936.

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE LAND PURCHASE ACTS IN DIVERS RESPECTS. [14th August, 1936.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

Short title, construction, and citation.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Land Act, 1936.

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

General rules.

2.—The power of making rules conferred by sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 3 of the Land Act, 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, and in this Act the word “prescribed” means prescribed by such rules.

Expenses.

3.—All expenses incurred by the Minister for Lands, and all payments made and expenses incurred by the Land Commission, in the execution of this Act shall, to such extent as shall be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Drawings for the redemption of land bonds.

4.—(1) Regulations made by the Minister for Finance under the Land Bond Act, 1933 (No. 33 of 1933), for the purposes of sub-section (4) of section 4 of that Act, and any order or regulations made by the said Minister under the Land Bond Act, 1934 (No. 11 of 1934), for the purposes of sub-section (2) of section 7 of that Act may provide for both or either of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) that no drawings for the redemption of the land bonds or series of land bonds to which such regulations or order relate shall take place before the expiration of two years from the date of the first issue of such land bonds or series of land bonds or until, on some 1st day of May or 1st day of November, not less than eighty per cent. of the nominal amount of such of the said land bonds or series of land bonds as shall have been issued before such day are registered in the books of the National City Bank,

(b) that, for the purposes of any drawing for the redemption of such land bonds or series of 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) All sums set aside in the land bond fund in pursuance of section 5 of the Land Bond Act, 1933 (No. 33 of 1933), or of an order made under section 4 of the Land Bond Act, 1934 (No. 11 of 1934), and not immediately required for the redemption of land bonds may be invested by the Minister for Finance, if he so thinks fit, in the purchase of any stock, fund, or security in which trustees are authorised by section 18 of the Adaptation of Enactments Act, 1922 (No. 2 of 1922), to invest trust funds or in the purchase of any stock, shares, or security the principal of and interest on which are guaranteed under statutory authority by the Government of Saorstát Eireann, and if and whenever any sum so set aside is so invested the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) it shall be lawful for the Minister for Finance, as and when he so thinks proper, to sell any such investment;

(b) the net proceeds of the sale of any such investment shall be paid into the land bond fund;

(c) all interest or dividend received by the Minister for Finance on or in respect of any such investment shall be paid into the land bond fund;

(d) all moneys paid into the land bond fund under this section in respect of any investment shall be available for any purpose for which the moneys used for the purchase of such investment would have been available.

Redemption of funding annuities on resumed holdings.

5.—(1) Whenever the Land Commission resumes a holding on which a funding annuity is charged, such funding annuity shall be redeemed out of the resumption price of such holding by the sale of sufficient of the land bonds representing such resumption price to pay the redemption price of such funding annuity.

(2) Whenever a funding annuity is redeemed in pursuance of this section, the redemption price thereof shall be ascertained in accordance with section 22 of the Land Act, 1933 .

Redemption of purchase annuities on holdings acquired by the Land Commission.

6.—(1) Whenever the redemption price of a purchase annuity charged on land acquired by the Land Commission is, in pursuance of section 14 of the Land Act, 1923 , regarded and dealt with as a claim attaching to the purchase money of such land, the redemption price of such purchase annuity shall (notwithstanding anything contained in section 3 of the Land Act, 1923 , as amended by section 4 of the Land Bond Act, 1925 (No. 25 of 1925), or in the said section 3 as so amended and applied by either section 2 of the Land Bond Act, 1933 (No. 33 of 1933), or section 2 of the Land Bond Act, 1934 (No. 11 of 1934)) be paid by transferring to the Land Commission so much of the land bonds representing the said purchase money as shall be sufficient at the price of the day to pay the redemption price of such purchase annuity.

(2) Sub-section (3) of section 1 of the Land Act, 1923 , as amended by section 3 of the Land Bond Act, 1925 , is hereby amended by the deletion therefrom of the sentence now contained therein which begins with the words “Such regulations” and ends with the words “under this Act”.

Grants in relation to the transfer of migrants.

7.—(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 extend to and include the grant to or expenditure for the benefit of a migrant (whether before or after he is put into possession of his new holding but not later than eighteen months after he is so put into possession) of such sums as the Land Commission shall think necessary or expedient for either or both of the following purposes, that is to say:—

(a) the purchase by or for the benefit of such migrant of provisions and fuel for himself and the members of his family residing with him;

(b) assisting such migrant in the cultivation and development of his new holding.

(2) The sums expended by the Land Commission under the foregoing sub-section of this section shall, up to but not exceeding such amount as shall be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance in respect of each year, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(3) The expenses of transferring migrants to their new holdings in respect of which the Land Commission is empowered by section 48 of the Land Act, 1931 , to make grants shall include and be deemed always to have included the expenses of bringing a migrant to inspect a holding proposed to be allotted to him.

Transfer of annuity and arrears on exchange of holdings.

8.—(1) Where a new holding is provided for a migrant in exchange for an old holding on which a funding annuity is charged, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) such funding annuity shall, unless the Land Commission otherwise orders, be transferred to and charged on the new holding in exoneration of the old holding as on and from the date on which the old holding is transferred to the Land Commission, and

(b) the charge of such funding annuity on the new holding shall rank next in priority after the purchase annuity, rent, interest, or other annual payment (as the case may be) which is charged on or issues out of such holding, and

(c) if the new holding is or becomes subject to a purchase annuity, the said funding annuity shall be consolidated with such purchase annuity in accordance with regulations made or to be made by the Minister for Finance.

(2) Where a new holding is provided for a migrant in exchange for an old holding which is subject to a purchase annuity for the repayment of purchase money to which arrears of rent or of interest on purchase money (whether with or without costs and expenses) were added under sub-section (2) of section 16 of the Land Act, 1933 , on the vesting of such holding in the purchaser, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the said purchase annuity shall, unless the Land Commission otherwise orders, be apportioned and so much thereof as represents the said arrears and the said costs and expenses (if any) so added as aforesaid shall be transferred to and charged on the new holding in exoneration of the old holding as on and from the date on which the old holding is transferred to the Land Commission, and

(b) if the new holding is or becomes subject to a purchase annuity, the said portion of the purchase annuity on the old holding so transferred to the new holding shall be consolidated with the said purchase annuity on the new holding in accordance with regulations made or to be made by the Minister for Finance.

(3) Where a new holding is provided for a migrant in exchange for an old holding before such old holding has been vested in him, all arrears of rent or of interest on purchase money and all (if any) costs and expenses which would, under sub-section (2) of section 16 of the Land Act, 1933 , have been added to the purchase money of the old holding on the vesting thereof in a purchaser shall, in lieu of being so added, be added (unless the Land Commission otherwise orders) to the purchase money of the new holding when it is vested in such migrant.

(4) Where a new holding is provided for a migrant in exchange for an old holding, all (if any) arrears of purchase annuity, interest, rent, or other annual payment charged on or payable in respect of the old holding which accrued after the first gale day in the year 1933 and were due and owing on the date of the transfer of the old holding to the Land Commission and the amount of all costs and expenses (if any) incurred by the Land Commission before the date of the said transfer in proceedings for the recovery of any such arrears shall, unless the Land Commission otherwise orders, be transferred to and charged on the new holding in exoneration of the old holding as on and from the date of the said transfer and shall be recoverable out of the new holding in like manner in all respects as if the said purchase annuity, interest, rent, or other annual payment had been payable in respect of the new holding.

(5) The provisions of this section are in addition to and not in substitution for the provisions of section 46 of the Land Act, 1923 , which relate to the transfer of burdens on an exchange of holdings.

(6) In this section the word “holding” includes a parcel of untenanted land.

Sale of defaulters' holdings discharged from arrears.

9.—Where the Land Commission have obtained possession of a holding under section 37 of the Land Act, 1927 , on account of default in the payment of the purchase annuity charged on such holding or have taken up a parcel of land from an allottee on account of default in the payment of interest, rent, or other annual payment payable in respect of such parcel, the Land Commission may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, re-sell such holding or re-allot such parcel discharged from the whole or a specified part of the arrears of such purchase annuity or annual payment (as the case may be) and shall in such case write off as irrecoverable the arrears from which such holding or parcel is so discharged.

Land bonds over-issued or under-issued for compounded arrears of rent.

10.—The provisions of sub-section (3) of section 13 and of paragraphs (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) of section 15 of the Land Act, 1931 , and the provisions of sections 18, 19, and 20 of that Act (as amended by this Act) shall apply and have effect and be deemed always to have applied and had effect in relation to the portion of a purchase annuity which is payable in respect of sums added to the purchase money for compounded arrears of rent in like manner as they apply and have effect in relation to the residue of such purchase annuity, and the appropriate guarantee deposit retained under section 21 of the Land Act, 1931 , shall be available in relation to the said portion of such purchase annuity accordingly.

Amendment of provisions relating to land bonds over-issued.

11.—(1) In this section the expression “excess land bonds” means land bonds which have been issued in respect of an advance made for the purchase of a holding and are not required for that purpose either because the proceedings in respect of such holding have been dismissed or because the purchase annuity of such holding has been reduced.

(2) Where excess land bonds have been issued and have not been allocated, the following provisions shall have effect by way of amendment of sections 13 , 15 , 18 , 19 , and 20 of the Land Act, 1931 , and shall, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of any of those sections, be deemed to be substituted for the provisions of those sections, that is to say:—

(a) the Land Commission shall transfer such excess land bonds (with the appropriate interest accrued thereon from the issue thereof to the last day for the payment of dividends thereon) to an adjustment account in the books of the Land Commission;

(b) whenever it is necessary, in the circumstances mentioned in sub-section (1) of section 18 of the Land Act, 1931 , to issue additional land bonds, the Land Commission may, in lieu of issuing such additional land bonds, provide such land bonds by transferring the requisite number of land bonds (with such accrued interest as may be requisite) of the appropriate series from the said adjustment account to the credit of the estate in which such additional land bonds are required;

(c) the advances and State contribution for which land bonds transferred under this section to the said adjustment account were issued shall be redeemed or written off by the Land Commission;

(d) sub-section (2) of the said section 18 shall apply and have effect in relation to land bonds transferred under this section from the said adjustment account to the credit of an estate as if such land bonds were additional land bonds issued on the date of such transfer;

(e) all land bonds which are transferred under this section to the said adjustment account and are not transferred under this section to the credit of an estate shall be cancelled or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall from time to time direct;

(f) whenever land bonds are transferred under this section to the said adjustment account, the vendor or other person who shall have received the interest on such land bonds shall pay to the Land Commission a sum equal to so much of the interest accrued on such land bonds up to the date of such transfer as is not available for transfer under this section with such land bonds to the said adjustment account, and if and so far as such sum is not so paid to the Land Commission it may be recovered by the Land Commission on allocation as a claim against the purchase money.

(3) The following paragraph shall be and is hereby inserted in section 20 of the Land Act, 1931 , in lieu of paragraph (c) of that section and also in sub-section (4) of section 21 of the said Act in lieu of paragraph (b) of that sub-section, that is to say:—

“a sum equal to the interest at the rate of four and three-quarters per cent. per annum on so much of the land bonds so redeemed as were issued for advances to purchasers for the period from the date of the issue of such land bonds to the day for the payment of dividends on such land bonds next before the redemption of such land bonds.”

(4) This section shall have and be deemed always to have had effect as on and from the passing of the Land Act, 1931 .

Times for payment of additional sums.

12.—(1) Section 51 (which relates to the times for payment of additional sums) of the Land Act, 1931 , is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that every additional sum which is by the Land Purchase Acts made payable to the Land Commission by a purchaser on the first gale day on which an instalment of purchase annuity or of a sum equivalent to purchase annuity is payable shall be paid at such times and in such manner in all respects as it would have been payable if the said section 51 had never been enacted.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing sub-section of this section, all instalments of additional sums for the payment of which the Land Commission has given directions before the passing of this Act shall continue to be payable and shall be paid in accordance with the said section 51 of the Land Act, 1931 , and rules made by the Land Commission thereunder.

Application of section 38 of the Land Act, 1933, to judicial holdings.

13.—(1) Section 38 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall apply and be deemed always to have applied in the case of a holding included in a list of vested holdings published under section 9 of the Land Act, 1931 , which is subject to a judicial rent as well as in the case of a holding so included which is subject to a rent other than a judicial rent, and accordingly the power conferred by the said section on the Land Commission to fix the standard purchase annuity for a holding in the manner provided by Part II of the First Schedule to the Land Act, 1923 , shall be exercisable and be deemed always to have been exercisable, in the circumstances mentioned in the said section, in relation to a holding which is subject to a judicial rent as well as in relation to a holding which is subject to a rent other than a judicial rent.

(2) The power conferred on the Land Commission by the said section 38 of the Land Act, 1933 , as extended by the foregoing sub-section of this section to fix the standard purchase annuity for a holding in the manner provided by Part II of the First Schedule to the Land Act, 1923 , may be exercised, in the circumstances mentioned in the said section 38, in relation to a particular holding subject to a judicial rent notwithstanding any order or decision to the contrary in respect of that particular holding which was made or given before the passing of this Act and was so made or given on the sole ground that such holding was subject to a judicial rent.

Power to agree on standard purchase annuity of non-judicial holding.

14.—Where the landlord and the tenant of a holding to which Part II of the Schedule to the Land Act, 1923 , applied have, after the passing of the Land Act, 1929 , and either before or after the passing of this Act, agreed upon the amount of the standard purchase annuity of such holding, the standard purchase annuity of such holding shall, notwithstanding anything contained in section 2 of the Land Act, 1929 , but without prejudice to the powers of the Land Commission under section 38 of the Land Act, 1933 , to reduce such standard purchase annuity, be the standard purchase annuity so agreed upon.

Cash payments by purchasers.

15.—(1) Where the standard price of a holding together with the compounded arrears of rent (if any) exceeds the amount which the Land Commission has agreed after the passing of this Act to advance to the purchaser for the purchase of such holding, the following provisions shall apply and have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the amount of the excess of such standard price and compounded arrears of rent (if any) over the amount so agreed to be advanced shall be paid by the tenant;

(b) the tenant shall be entitled to credit, as against the amount so payable by him, for so much of the payments made by him on foot of the annual sum payable in respect of the holding after the appointed day as represents payments in respect of sinking fund attributable to the said excess;

(c) the tenant shall, before the holding is vested in him, pay in cash a sum equal to the difference between the said excess and the payments for which he is entitled to credit as aforesaid;

(d) the sum so paid in cash by the tenant shall be paid into the land bond fund and that sum, together with the payments for which he is entitled to credit as aforesaid, shall be a satisfaction of an equal amount (and no more) of the said standard price and compounded arrears of rent (if any);

(e) the transactions mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs of this sub-section shall not be regarded for any purpose as a redemption or partial redemption of a purchase annuity, and accordingly nothing contained in section 22 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall apply or have effect in relation thereto.

(2) Where the Land Commission directs that the whole or a part of the purchase money of a parcel of land shall be paid in cash by the allottee or tenant before the parcel is vested in him, the following provisions shall apply and have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the amount so directed to be paid in cash by the allottee or tenant shall, when so paid by such allottee or tenant, be paid into the land bond fund or the purchase annuities fund (as the case may be) and shall be a satisfaction of an equal amount (and no more) of the purchase money of the estate in which such parcel is comprised;

(b) if the Land Commission is of opinion that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it is equitable that such allottee or tenant should get the like benefits in relation to the amount so payable by him as a purchaser of a parcel by means of an advance under the Land Purchase Acts is entitled to get under section 19 of the Land Act, 1933 , in relation to the revision of the purchase annuity on such parcel the Land Commission may reduce the amount so payable by such allottee or tenant accordingly;

(c) where the said amount so payable by such allottee or tenant is reduced under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section, the payment of such reduced amount in cash by such allottee or tenant shall be a satisfaction of such amount only of the purchase money of the estate in which such parcel is comprised as is equal to the sum so payable in cash by such allottee or tenant or (where such allottee or tenant gets the benefits mentioned in the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section) which would have been so payable in cash by him if he had not got those benefits;

(d) the transactions mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs of this sub-section shall not be regarded for any purpose as a redemption or a partial redemption of a purchase annuity, and accordingly nothing contained in section 22 of the Land Act, 1933 . shall apply or have effect in relation thereto.

Obligation to pay portion of certain advances in full.

16.—(1) Whenever the advance to a purchaser of a holding or a parcel of land which is sanctioned under the Land Purchase Acts exceeds the sum of three thousand pounds or, in the case of a holding to which sub-section (2) of section 9 of the Land Act, 1927 , applies, the sum of five thousand pounds, then and in every such case the annual sum, additional sum, interest on purchase money, and purchase annuity in respect of so much of such advance as exceeds three thousand or five thousand pounds (as the case may be) shall, notwithstanding anything contained in Part III of the Land Act, 1933 , be payable in full by the purchaser.

(2) Whenever—

(a) an advance to a purchaser of a holding or a parcel of land is sanctioned under the Land Purchase Acts, and

(b) such purchaser or the wife or the husband of such purchaser is the proprietor or such purchaser and his or her wife or husband are severally or jointly (whether as joint tenants or as tenants-in-common) the proprietors of lands for the purchase of which advances have been made under any of the Land Purchase Acts, and

(c) the said advance so sanctioned to such purchaser together with the capitalised value (calculated at the rate of four pounds and fifteen shillings per cent.) of the original purchase annuities set up to repay the advances mentioned in the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section exceeds the sum of three thousand pounds or, in the case of a holding to which sub-section (2) of section 9 of the Land Act, 1927 , applies, the sum of five thousand pounds,

then and in every such case the annual sum, additional sum, interest on purchase money, and purchase annuity in respect of so much of the said advance as together with the said capitalised value exceeds three thousand pounds or five thousand pounds (as the case may be) shall, notwithstanding anything contained in Part III of the Land Act, 1933 , be payable in full by such purchaser.

Levying of fees and expenses under warrants of the Land Commission.

17.—(1) A county registrar executing a warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall be entitled—

(a) if the money certified in such warrant to be due exceeds three hundred pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under such warrant such fees and expenses, calculated according to the scales appointed by the Minister for Justice under paragraph (a) of sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 (No. 18 of 1926), and for the time being in force, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such warrant were an execution order (within the meaning of the said Act) of the High Court, and

(b) if the money certified in such warrant to be due exceeds twenty-five pounds but does not exceed three hundred pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under suchwarrant such fees and expenses, calculated according to the said scales, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such warrant were an execution order (within the meaning aforesaid) of the Circuit Court, and

(c) if the money certified in such warrant to be due does not exceed twenty-five pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under such warrant such fees and expenses, calculated according to the said scales, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such warrant were an execution order (within the meaning aforesaid) of the District Court.

(2) The foregoing sub-section of this section shall have and be deemed always to have had effect as on and from the passing of the Land Act, 1933 , and accordingly no warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of that Act before the passing of this Act shall be or ever have been made void or in any way prejudiced by the addition to the money thereby certified to be due of any fees or expenses which might lawfully have been so added if the said foregoing sub-section had then been in force, and no levy by a county registrar before the passing of this Act of the amount of any such fees or expenses so added which would have been a lawful levy if the said foregoing sub-section had then been in force shall be or ever have been unlawful.

(3) A county registrar executing before the passing of this Act a warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall be deemed always to have been entitled to charge and (where appropriate) to add to the money certified in such warrant to be due and (in any case) to levy under such warrant (in lieu of such fees and expenses as are mentioned in the first sub-section of this section) such fees and expenses as were specified or authorised or purported to be authorised in that behalf in or by any direction issued to such county registrar by the Minister for Justice.

(4) No action or other proceeding instituted in any court before and pending at the passing of this Act against a county registrar in respect of anything done by him under a warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall (subject to the next following sub-section of this section) be further prosecuted or proceeded with if or in so far as such proceeding is grounded on all or any of the following allegations, that is to say, the allegation that the charge by such county registrar in relation to such warrant of any fees or any expenses which might lawfully have been so charged if the foregoing sub-sections of this section had then been in force was unlawful, or the allegation that such warrant was invalidated or prejudiced by the addition to the moneys thereby certified of any fees or any expenses which might lawfully have been so added if the said foregoing sub-sections had then been in force, or the allegation that the levy under such warrant of any such fees or any such expenses was unlawful.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the next preceding sub-section of this section, it shall be lawful for the Court in which any such action or other proceeding as is mentioned in that sub-section is pending at the passing of this Act to make on the application of the plaintiff in such proceeding after such passing such order as to the costs of such proceeding as such Court shall think proper.

(6) In the application of this section in relation to a county for which there is for the time being an under-sheriff, this section shall have and, in the case of the first sub-section thereof, be deemed always to have had effect as if the word “under-sheriff” were substituted for the expression “county registrar” throughout this section.

Goods seizable under warrants of the Land Commission.

18.—(1) A county registrar executing an execution order (other than an order for the delivery of possession of lands or premises) obtained at the suit of the Land Commission-or levying under a warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall, in addition to all other powers vested in him by law, be entitled to levy the amount leviable under such order or warrant by seizure and sale, so far as may be necessary of all goods, animals or other chattels (to whomsoever belonging) found on the lands on which are charged or out of which issue the moneys for default in payment whereof such execution order was obtained or such warrant was issued.

(2) In this section the expression “execution order” has the same meaning as it has in the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 (No. 18 of 1926), and in the application of this section in relation to a county for which there is for the time being an under-sheriff, the word “under-sheriff” shall in this section be substituted for the expression “county registrar.”

Application of Part II of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926.

19.—A warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall be deemed to be a judgment of a competent court within the meaning of section 15 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 (No. 18 of 1926), and the moneys certified by such warrant to be due shall be deemed for the purposes of the said section 15 to be due to the Land Commission under such warrant, and accordingly Part II of the said Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 , shall apply and have effect in relation to such moneys but subject to the modification that the words “any process of the court by which the said judgment was given” contained in paragraph (c) of sub-section (1) of the said section 15 shall be construed as meaning a warrant issued by the Land Commission under the said section 28 .

Appointment of limited administrators in certain cases.

20.—Where, in any proceedings under the Land Purchase Acts, the Land Commission makes an advance for the improvement of a holding or of a parcel of land and the owner of such holding or parcel is dead and there is no legal personal representative of such deceased owner or the services of the legal personal representative of such deceased owner are not conveniently available for the purposes of such proceedings, the Land Commission may, on such terms and conditions (if any) as they may think proper, appoint some proper person to be the administrator of the personal estate of such deceased owner limited to the purposes of the said proceedings, and upon such appointment being made the person thereby appointed to be such limited administrator shall, for the purposes of the said proceedings, represent such deceased owner in the same manner as if such deceased owner had died intestate and letters of his personal estate and effects had been duly granted to the said person so appointed to be such limited administrator.

Restriction on vesting of untenanted land in a congested districts county.

21.—No untenanted land situated in a congested districts county in respect of which no provisional list has been published before the passing of this Act shall vest in the Land Commission on the appointed day by virtue of section 24 (as amended or extended by subsequent enactments) of the Land Act, 1923 , unless the Lay Commissioners before the appointed day certify that such land is required for the purpose of relieving congestion or for the purpose of resale, under the powers conferred by section 32 of the Land Act, 1933 , to the persons or bodies mentioned in section 31 (as amended or extended by subsequent enactments) of the Land Act, 1923 .

Termination of powers under section 42 of the and Act, 1927.

22.—(1) Advances may be made by the Land Commission after the passing of this Act for the purchase and resale of land under the powers conferred by section 42 of the Land Act, 1927 , where an application for such purchase and resale was lodged with the Land Commission before the 1st day of January, 1936, save that no such advance shall be made after the passing of this Act—

(a) to a person who, before the 1st day of January, 1936, refused to purchase the parcel of such land which was allotted to him, or

(b) where no steps have been taken to complete the proceedings since the 1st day of January, 1935, and the Land Commission does not certify that the failure to take such steps was not due to any neglect or default by the parties to such proceedings.

(2) Save as is authorised by the foregoing sub-section of this section, no advance shall be made by the Land Commission after the passing of this Act for the purchase and resale of land under the powers conferred by section 42 of the Land Act, 1927 .

Amendment of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923, in relation to building ground.

23.—(1) The exception from the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , which is made by paragraph (e) of sub-section (2) of that section shall, after the passing of this Act, apply only to a holding or parcel of untenanted land which, in the opinion of the Land Commission, possesses a substantial and actual value as building ground.

(2) Section 7 of the Land Act, 1927 , and section 46 of the Land Act, 1933 , (which amend the said paragraph (e) of sub-section (2) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 ) shall be construed and have effect in conformity with the amendment of the said paragraph (e) effected by the foregoing sub-section of this section and shall be deemed to be amended accordingly.

Extension of the purposes for which holdings may be resumed.

24.—(1) In addition to the purposes for which the Land Commission may, under the enactments in force immediately before the passing of this Act, resume a holding, the Land Commission may resume a holding for the purpose of the provision of land for resale to 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 .

(2) Where the Appeal Tribunal authorises the Land Commission to resume a holding and the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) certify that it is expedient that such holding should immediately be available for distribution or for carrying out improvements with a view to distribution, the Appeal Tribunal shall authorise the Land Commission to enter into possession of such holding immediately notwithstanding that the resumption price thereof has not been fixed.

(3) Where the Land Commission, under an authority given by the Appeal Tribunal under the next preceding sub-section of this section, enters into possession of a holding; before the resumption price thereof is fixed, the Land Commission shall, when land bonds are issued in payment of such resumption price, pay to the person entitled to such resumption price interest on such resumption price from the date on which the Land Commission so enters into possession of such holding to the date on which the said land bonds are issued at the rate per annum at which the interest on the said land bonds is payable.

Procedure on compulsory acquisition of land.

25.—(1) Whenever the Land Commission after the passing of this Act proposes to acquire compulsorily any land for the relief of congestion or for the purpose of resale to the persons or bodies mentioned in section 31 of the Land Act, 1923 , as amended by section 33 of the Land Act, 1933 , the Land Commission shall publish in the Iris Oifigiúil—

(a) a certificate by the Lay Commissioners that such land is required for (as the case may be) the relief of congestion or the purpose of resale to the persons or bodies aforesaid, and

(b) such provisional list as is mentioned in sub-section (2) of section 40 of the Land Act, 1923 , of such land.

(2) All objections to a provisional list published in the Iris Oifigiúil in pursuance of the foregoing sub-section of this section shall be listed for hearing before the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) and the decision of such Lay Commissioners on any such objection shall be final subject only to such right of appeal as is given by this section.

(3) If the Lay Commissioners are not satisfied that the tenant or proprietor of any land included in a certificate published under sub-section (1) of this section would, on such land being compulsorily acquired, be entitled to require the Land Commission to include in such certificate and acquire the whole of his lands and provide him with a new holding, the question whether such tenant or proprietor would be or would not be entitled shall, if he so requires, be listed for hearing before the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) and the decision of such Lay Commissioners on such question given after such hearing shall be final subject only to such right of appeal as is given by this section.

(4) An appeal shall lie from every decision under this section of the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) to the Appeal Tribunal on questions of law or of value, and the decision of the Appeal Tribunal on any such appeal shall be final subject only to an appeal to the Supreme Court on questions of law.

(5) Sub-section (5) of section 29 of the Land Act, 1933 , is hereby repealed.

(6) Nothing in this section shall apply to the compulsory acquisition of land by the Land Commission for the relief of congestion or for the purpose of such resale as is mentioned in the first sub-section of this section where such compulsory acquisition was begun before and is pending at the passing of this Act but, subject to that limitation, the procedure laid down in this section shall apply to all compulsory acquisition of land by the Land Commission for the relief of congestion or the purpose of such resale as aforesaid and shall be deemed for all purposes to be substituted for and to supersede any procedure (in this sub-section referred to as a superseded procedure) for such compulsory acquisition set out in any enactment in force immediately before the passing of this Act, and accordingly—

(a) every reference in any enactment in force after the passing of this Act to any step in a superseded procedure shall be construed as referring to the corresponding step in the procedure laid down in this section, and

(b) every power conferred on the Land Commission by any such enactment in relation or ancillary to the compulsory acquisition of land under a superseded procedure shall be exercisable by the Land Commission in relation or as ancillary to the compulsory acquisition of land under the procedure laid down in this section.

Payment of compensation to objectors.

26.—(1) Whenever an objection to a provisional list published (whether before or after the passing of this Act) in pursuance of section 40 of the Land Act, 1923 , or this Act is heard and determined after the passing of this Act by the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal), it shall be lawful for such Lay Commissioners, if they so think proper and whether they allow or disallow such objection, to direct that the Land Commission shall pay to the person making such objection such sum, by way of compensation for the expense incurred by him in relation to such objection, as such Lay Commissioners shall in their absolute discretion, fix in that behalf.

(2) Every sum which is directed by the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) 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.

Extension of powers for the relief of congestion.

27.—References in the Land Purchase Acts to the relief of congestion shall be construed as including the provision of land for a person who, by reason of the acquisition by the Land Commission of land on which he was employed, has lost his employment on such land, and the powers in relation to the relief of congestion vested in the Land Commission under the Land Purchase Acts shall be and are hereby extended accordingly.

Amendment of section 29 of the Land Act, 1933.

28.—The tenant or proprietor of land which is declared land within the meaning of section 29 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall not be entitled under sub-section (1) of that section to require the Land Commission to declare and acquire his entire land or to provide him with a new holding if the wife or the husband of such tenant or proprietor is or such tenant or proprietor and his wife or her husband are severally or jointly (whether as joint tenants or tenants-in-common) the owner or owners of land the market value of which exceeds the sum of two thousand pounds or if the market value of the land (other than the declared land) owned by such tenant or proprietor together with the market value of the land owned by the wife or the husband of such tenant or proprietor exceeds the sum of two thousand pounds.

Vesting of land certified under section 32 of the Land Act, 1933.

29.—Whenever the Lay Commissioners have or shall have certified (whether before or after the passing of this Act) under section 32 of the Land Act, 1933 , that any land is required for the purpose mentioned in sub-section (1) of that section, such land shall vest and, where the Lay Commissioners so certified before the passing of this Act, be deemed to have vested under section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , in the Land Commission on the appointed day.

Extension of powers conferred by section 30 of the Land Act, 1933.

30.—(1) The power conferred on the Land Commission by sub-section (1) of section 30 of the Land Act, 1933 , to declare the appointed day for such untenanted land as is mentioned in that sub-section notwithstanding that the price has not been agreed upon or fixed and to declare the provisional price (within the meaning of that section) of such land is hereby extended to and shall be exercisable in cases in which the Land Commission consider it expedient that improvements should be carried out forthwith on such land in order to prepare it for distribution.

(2) Sub-sections (2) to (5) of the said section 30 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall apply and have effect in relation to any exercise by virtue of this section of the said power conferred on the Land Commission by sub-section (1) of the said section 30 .

Unopposed applications under section 14 of the Land Act, 1931.

31.—Where the Land Commission is satisfied that an application by a tenant under sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Land Act, 1931 , should be granted, and no objection to such application has been made by the landlord or any other interested party, the Land Commission may, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) of the said section 14 , grant such application without listing the matter for hearing under the said sub-section (2).

Preservation of rights notwithstanding listing under sections 23 or 24 of the Land Act, 1931.

32.—The inclusion (whether before or after the passing of this Act) of a holding in a list of congested districts holdings published under section 23 of the Land Act, 1931 , or in a list of holdings on untenanted land published under section 24 of the said Act shall not operate or, in the case of a list published before the passing of this Act, be deemed ever to have operated to deprive the Land Commission of any rights which, immediately before the publication of such list, they had in relation to such holding under the agreement or letting under which it was then held.

Parcels held under undertakings and not listed under section 24 of the Land Act, 1931.

33.—In the case of every parcel of untenanted land—

(a) the whole of the purchase money of which is to be advanced by the Land Commission, and

(b) which has not been included in a list of holdings on untenanted land published under section 24 of the Land Act, 1931 , before the passing of this Act, and

(c) in respect of which the allottee has signed (whether before or after the passing of this Act) an agreement or undertaking to purchase,

such parcel shall be deemed to have been included in a list of holdings on untenanted land published under the said section 24 on the gale day next after the date of the said agreement or undertaking to purchase or the date of the passing of this Act (whichever is the later date), and the provisions of the Land Purchase Acts (including this Act) in relation to holdings included in a list of holdings on untenanted land published under the said section 24 shall apply in relation to such parcel accordingly.

Amendment of section 9 of the Land Act, 1927 in relation to stud farms.

34.—(1) The determination of the question whether any thoroughbred stock is or is not of a nature and character suitable, within the meaning of sub-section (1) of section 9 of the Land Act, 1927 , to the requirements of the country which was vested in the Minister for Lands and Agriculture by the said sub-section (1) and is now vested in the Minister for Lands by virtue of orders made by the Executive Council under the Ministers and Secretaries Acts, 1924 and 1928, is hereby transferred to and vested in the Minister for Agriculture, and for that purpose the said sub-section (1) is hereby amended by the substitution of the expression “Minister for Agriculture” for the expression “Minister for Lands and Agriculture”now contained therein.

(2) The decision of all questions whether any land, whether tenanted or untenanted, is being used in a bona fide manner as a farm for the purpose of breeding thoroughbred stock within the meaning of section 9 of the Land Act, 1927 , shall be made by the Lay Commissioners (other than members of the Appeal Tribunal) and the decision of such Lay Commissioners on any such question shall be final subject only to an appeal to the Appeal Tribunal on questions of law or of value, and the decision of the Appeal Tribunal on any such appeal shall be final subject only to an appeal to the Supreme Court on questions of law.

Extinguishment of superseded rights of way.

35.—(1) Whenever the Land Commission, under any provision of the Land Purchase Acts, confers, defines, extends, or improves a right of way or a right of access, it shall be lawful for the Lay Commissioners to extinguish by order any other right of way or right of access which has in their opinion become unnecessary in consequence of the said conferring, defining, extension, or improvement (as the case may be) of such first-mentioned right of way, and to fix the compensation (if any) to be paid on account of such extinguishment of the said other right of way or right of access.

(2) Whenever the Lay Commissioners make an order under this section extinguishing a right of way, such right of way shall for all purposes be extinguished as from the date of such order and shall not be exercisable after that date.

(3) Every order of the Lay Commissioners under this section extinguishing a right of way shall be final and unappealable.

Restrictions on the cutting or removal of bent.

36.—(1) Whenever it appears to the Land Commission that the cutting or removal of bent or other grass of a like character on or from any land (in this sub-section referred to as the first-mentioned land) has injured or prejudicially affected or is likely to injure or prejudicially affect any land (whether the land on which such bent or other grass was or is growing or some other land) which has been or is about to be sold under the Land Purchase Acts, the Land Commission may, after giving in such manner as may be prescribed such notice as may be prescribed of their intention so to do, by order prohibit the cutting or removal of bent or any similar grass on or from the first-mentioned land.

(2) No order shall be made by the Land Commission under this section in relation to any land which is seashore within the meaning of the Foreshore Act, 1933 (No. 12 of 1933), save after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

(3) It shall not be lawful for any person to cut or remove any bent or any similar grass on or from any land on or from which the cutting or removal of bent or any similar grass is for the time being prohibited by an order made by the Land Commission under this section.

(4) Every person who shall cut or remove any bent or any similar grass in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first such offence, to a fine not exceeding five pounds and, in the case of a second or any subsequent such offence, to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

Tenancies created after 9th August, 1923.

37.—(1) Where, on the application of the occupier of a parcel of untenanted land and after notice to all interested parties, the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) are satisfied—

(a) that such land is held by the said occupier thereof under a contract of tenancy (other than a fee farm grant, a lease for lives or years renewable for ever, or a lease for a term of sixty or more years) entered into after the 9th day of August, 1923, and before the 14th day of October, 1933, and

(b) that such contract of tenancy was not a letting for temporary depasturage, agistment, or conacre or for temporary convenience or to meet a temporary necessity, and

(c) that such land is being worked by such occupier as an ordinary farm in accordance with proper methods of husbandry, and

(d) that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it would be in the interests of the country that such land should be sold under the Land Purchase Acts to the said occupier thereof,

the said Lay Commissioners may by order declare that the provisions of the Land Act, 1923 (as amended and extended by subsequent enactments, including this Act) relating to tenanted land shall apply to such land.

(2) Whenever the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) make in respect of any land such order as is authorised by the next preceding sub-section of this section, the provisions of the Land Act, 1923 (as amended and extended by subsequent enactments, including this Act) relating to tenanted land shall, subject to such appeal as is hereinafter mentioned and subject to the provisions of this section, apply to such land as if it were tenanted land within the meaning of the Land Act, 1923 , as so amended and extended.

(3) Where, on the application of the owner of a parcel of untenanted land and after notice to all interested parties, the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) are satisfied—

(a) that such land is held by the said owner thereof under a fee farm grant made after the 9th day of August, 1923, and before the 14th day of October, 1933, or under a lease similarly made for lives or years renewable for ever or under a lease similarly made for sixty or more years, and

(b) that such owner is in bona fide occupation of such land and occupies and uses it in the same manner as an ordinary farmer in accordance with proper methods of husbandry, and

(c) that such land is not required for the relief of congestion or for the purpose of resale to the persons or bodies mentioned in section 31 of the Land Act, 1923 , as extended by the Land Act, 1933 , and

(d) that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it would be in the interests of the country that such land should be sold under the Land Purchase Acts to the said owner thereof, and

(e) that such owner is willing to purchase such land under the said Acts,

the said Lay Commissioners may by order declare that such land shall vest in the Land Commission on the appointed day as if it were tenanted land.

(4) Whenever the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) make in respect of any land such order as is authorised by the next preceding sub-section of this section, such land shall vest in the Land Commission on the appointed day as if it were tenanted land within the meaning of the Land Act, 1923 , as amended and extended by subsequent enactments and the provisions of section 44 (except sub-section (1) thereof) of the Land Act, 1931 , as amended by section 42 of the Land Act, 1933 , and by this Act shall apply to such land with the modification that every reference to an application under the said section 44 shall be construed and have effect as a reference to an application under the said next preceding sub-section of this section.

(5) Whenever the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) make in respect of any land such order as is authorised by whichever of the preceding sub-sections of this section is applicable to the case, the following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to such land and shall so apply and have effect by way of modification of the statutory provisions applied to such land by such order and the said preceding sub-sections, that is to say:—

(a) in sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 19 of the Land Act, 1923 , the words “the appointed day” shall be substituted for the words “the passing of this Act”, and in the said sub-section (2) the reference to the first gale day in the year 1920 shall be construed and have effect as a reference to such gale day prior to the appointed day as will permit three years' arrears and not more than three years' arrears to be compounded under the said section 19 and the reference to the second gale day in the year 1920 shall be construed and have effect as a reference to the gale day next after such gale day prior to the appointed day as aforesaid;

(b) in fixing the standard purchase annuity of such land, the Land Commission shall have regard to the value of such land at the date of the said order but not so as to lessen the amount of such standard purchase annuity on account of a deterioration in value of such land which is, in the opinion of the Land Commission, due to the wilful neglect or default of the applicant for such order;

(c) the purchase annuity payable by the purchaser on the sale of such land under the Land Purchase Acts in consequence of the said order shall consist of—

(i) the said standard purchase annuity, and

(ii) the additional annuity (if any) in respect of compounded arrears of rent added to the purchase money, and

(iii) an annuity at the rate of four and three-quarters per cent. on the contribution of the State to the standard price of such land, and

(iv) an annuity at the rate of four and three-quarters per cent. on a sum equivalent to two per cent. of the purchase money of such land;

(d) the annual sum payable under sub-section (2) of section 28 of the Land Act, 1923 , shall be equivalent to the purchase annuity as calculated under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section, and the additional sum payable under sub-section (3) of the said section 28 shall be computed accordingly;

(e) Part III of the Land Act, 1933 , shall not apply or have effect in relation to the said purchase annuity or to the said annual sum or to the said additional sum.

(6) 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 this section in respect of a parcel of untenanted land by reason only of the fact that such parcel is a part of a holding purchased under any Land Purchase Act, but in every such case section 14 of the Land Act, 1923 , as amended by this Act shall apply and have effect.

(7) The Land Bond Act, 1934 (No. 11 of 1934), shall apply to land bonds created and issued by the Minister for Finance for the purposes of this section in like manner as the said Act applies to land bonds created and issued by the said Minister for the purposes of the Land Act, 1923 , or any of the Acts amending or extending that Act.

(8) An appeal shall lie to the Appeal Tribunal from every order made by the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) under this section, and the decision of the Appeal Tribunal on any such appeal shall be final subject only to an appeal to the Supreme Court on questions of law.

Compulsory acquisition of land vested in purchasers under the Land Act, 1923.

38.—(1) Whenever the Land Commission—

(a) have, before the passing of this Act, published a notice of intention to declare that land which, at the date of such publication, was vested in a purchaser under the Land Act, 1923, or any Act amending or extending that Act was required for the relief of congestion, or

(b) have, before the passing of this Act, given a certificate that land which, at the date of such certificate, was vested as aforesaid was required for the purpose of re-sale to the persons or bodies referred to in section 31 of the Land Act, 1923 , as amended by section 33 of the Land Act, 1933 , or

(c) shall, after the passing of this Act, publish in the Iris Oifigiúil a certificate that land which is at the date of such publication vested as aforesaid and had been so vested for seven years before such publication is required for the relief of congestion or for the purpose of such re-sale as aforesaid,

it shall be lawful and, in the case of any such notice or certificate so published or given before the passing of this Act, be deemed always to have been lawful for the Land Commission to declare the appointed day for such land.

(2) When the Land Commission have (whether before or after the passing of this Act) declared under the foregoing sub-section of this section the appointed day for any land, such land shall vest and, where such declaration of the appointed day was made before the passing of this Act, be deemed to have vested in the Land Commission on the appointed day so declared as untenanted land.

(3) Whenever the Land Commission have published or given (whether before or after the passing of this Act) any such notice or certificate as is mentioned in sub-section (1) of this section, the following provisions shall have effect and, where such notice or such certificate was so published or given after the passing of the Land Act, 1933 , and before the passing of this Act, be deemed to have had effect as from the date of such notice or certificate (as the case may be), that is to say:—

(a) section 29 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall apply in relation to the land which is the subject of the said notice or certificate (as the case may be) so published or given as if such notice or certificate were such declaration as is mentioned in sub-section (1) of the said section 29 , and

(b) section 32 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall apply in relation to the said land as if the said notice or certificate (as the case may be) so published or given were such certificate by the Lay Commissioners as is referred to in sub-section (1) of the said section 32 .

Power of the Land Commission to purchase sporting rights in certain cases.

39.—(1) Where land has been vested (whether before or after the passing of this Act) in a purchaser under the Land Act, 1923 , or any Act amending or extending that Act and the sporting rights (other than fishing rights) on or over such land were not so vested, and the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) are of opinion that it would be for the benefit of the country that such sporting rights should be acquired by the Land Commission and be vested in the proprietor of the said land as an appurtenance thereto, and such proprietor is willing to purchase such sporting rights, the said Lay Commissioners may make an order declaring the appointed day in respect of such sporting rights and vesting the same in the Land Commission at a price to be fixed by the said Lay Commissioners and paid in land bonds.

(2) Where land has been vested (whether before or after the passing of this Act) in a purchaser under the Land Act, 1923 , or any Act amending or extending that Act and the sporting rights (other than fishing rights) on or over such land were vested in such purchaser subject to a fee farm grant or lease, and the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) are of opinion that it would be for the benefit of the country that the interest of the grantee or lessee under such fee farm grant or lease in such sporting rights should be acquired by the Land Commission and be vested in the proprietor of the said land, and such proprietor is willing to purchase the said interest, the said Lay Commissioners may make an order declaring the appointed day in respect of the said interest of such grantee or lessee in such sporting rights and vesting such interest in the Land Commission at a price to be fixed by the said Lay Commissioners and paid in land bonds.

(3) Every order made under section 34 of the Land Act, 1933 declaring an appointed day and vesting sporting rights (other than fishing rights) in the Land Commission shall be made by the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) subject to such appeal as is provided for by this section.

(4) Every order made by the Lay Commissioners (other than members of the Appeal Tribunal) under section 34 of the Land Act, 1933 , or under this section declaring an appointed day and vesting sporting rights (other than fishing rights) or an interest in such sporting rights in the Land Commission and every order made by the said Lay Commissioners under this section fixing the price of such sporting rights or an interest in such sporting rights vested in the Land Commission under this section shall be final subject only to an appeal to the Appeal Tribunal on questions of law or value, and the decision of the Appeal Tribunal on any such appeal shall be final subject only to an appeal to the Supreme Court on questions of law.

(5) The Land Bond Act, 1933 (No. 33 of 1933), or the Land Bond Act, 1934 (No. 11 of 1934), as the case may require, shall apply to land bonds created and issued by the Minister for Finance for the purchase of sporting rights (other than fishing rights) under section 34 of the Land Act, 1933 , or under this section in like manner as such Act applies to land bonds created and issued by the said Minister for the purposes of the Land Act, 1923 , or any of the Acts amending or extending that Act.

Amendment of sub-section (2) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923.

40.—(1) Paragraphs (b), (c) and (g) of sub-section (2) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , and the whole of section 36 of the Land Act, 1933 , are hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that sub-section (1) of the said section 24 shall not apply to—

(a) any land which, during the whole or substantially the whole of the five years next before the institution of proceedings in relation thereto under the Land Purchase Acts, was not substantially agricultural or pastoral or partly agricultural and partly pastoral in character, or

(b) any holding the main object of the letting of which was for a residence and which, during the whole or substantially the whole of the five years next before the institution of proceedings in relation thereto under the Land Purchase Acts, retained its residential character, or

(c) any parcel of untenanted land which, during the whole or substantially the whole of the five years next before the institution of proceedings in relation thereto under the Land Purchase Acts, was a demesne, home farm, park, garden, or pleasure ground, or

(d) any land which, during the whole or substantially the whole of the five years next before the institution of proceedings in relation thereto under the Land Purchase Acts, was a glebe within the meaning of the Glebe Lands, Representative Church Body, Ireland, Act, 1875 , and was during the whole or substantially the whole of the said five years, held or occupied by ecclesiastical persons within the meaning of the said Act, or

(e) any land not exceeding thirty acres which was, within five years before the institution of proceedings in relation thereto under the Land Purchase Acts, acquired for the purpose of being used and occupied as a glebe within the meaning of the Glebe Lands, Representative Church Body, Ireland, Act, 1875 , and is, at the time of the institution of such proceedings, used and occupied as such glebe.

(2) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to the application of the foregoing sub-section of this section to any land, that is to say:—

(a) regard shall be had to the actual user or character of such land, and the fact (if it exists) that such user or character was a contravention of a covenant, condition, or agreement shall be disregarded unless the landlord shows that he did not know of such contravention or that he actively objected thereto, and

(b) no regard shall be had to any determination before the passing of this Act that sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , did not apply to such land.

(3) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to holdings usually occupied by a person in connection with a parcel of untenanted land which is a demense, home farm, park, garden, or pleasure ground, that is to say:—

(a) sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 shall apply to every such holding as from the passing of this Act;

(b) in the application of section 19 of the Land Act, 1923 , to any such holding the words “the appointed day” shall be substituted for the words “the passing of this Act” where the latter words occur in sub-section (2) and sub-section (3) of the said section 19 , and the reference in the said sub-section (2) to the first gale day in the year 1920 shall be construed and have effect as a reference to such gale day prior to the appointed day as will permit three years' arrears and not more than three years' arrears to be compounded under the said section 19 , and the reference in the said sub-section (2) to the second gale day in the year 1920 shall be construed and have effect as a reference to the gale day next after such gale day prior to the appointed day as aforesaid;

(c) in fixing the standard purchase annuity of any such holding, the Land Commission shall have regard to the value of such holding at the passing of this Act but not so as to lessen the amount of such standard purchase annuity on account of a deterioration in value of such holding which is, in the opinion of the Land Commission, due to the wilful neglect or default of the tenant of such holding;

(d) the purchase annuity payable by the purchaser under the Land Purchase Acts of any such holding shall consist of—

(i) the standard purchase annuity of such holding, and

(ii) the additional annuity (if any) in respect of compounded arrears of rent added to the purchase money, and

(iii) an annuity at the rate of four and three-quarters per cent. on the contribution of the State to the standard price of such holding, and

(iv) an annuity at the rates of four and three-quarters per cent. on a sum equivalent to two per cent of the purchase money of such holding;

(e) the annual sum payable under sub-section (2) of section 28 of the Land Act, 1923 , shall be equivalent to the purchase annuity as calculated under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section, and the additional sum payable under sub-section (3) of the said section 28 shall be computed accordingly;

(f) Part IΠ of the Land Act, 1933 , shall not apply or have effect in relation to the said purchase annuity or to the said annual sum or to the said additional sum;

(g) the Land Bond Act, 1934 (No. 11 of 1934), shall apply to land bonds created and issued by the Minister for Finance for the purposes of this sub-section in like manner as the said Act applies to land bonds created and issued by the said Minister for the purposes of the Land Act, 1923 , or any of the Acts amending or extending that Act.

(4) References in this Act to sub-section (2) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , shall (where the context so admits) be construed and have effect as references to the joint operation of that sub-section (as amended by this Act) and the first sub-section of this section.

Power to purchase part only of a holding.

41.—(1) Where any of the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , or of sub-section (1) of the next preceding section of this Act are applicable to part only of a holding, the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) may, if having regard to all the circumstances of the case they think it expedient so to do, by order divide such holding into separate holdings and apportion the rent of such holding between such separate holdings and declare the appointed day for any such separate holding to which the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , apply.

(2) Such order as is mentioned in the next preceding sub-section of this section may be made in respect of any such holding as is mentioned in that sub-section notwithstanding that the rent of such holding is payable partly in respect of the land comprised in such holding and partly in respect of an incorporeal hereditament, and in any such case the said rent may be apportioned by such order in such manner as to make an apportioned part of the said rent payable out of a separate holding (created by such order) to which the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , do not apply and such incorporeal hereditament.

(3) Where sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , would apply to a holding but for the fact that the rent of such holding is payable partly in respect of the land comprised in such holding and partly in respect of an incorporeal hereditament, the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) may, if having regard to all the circumstances of the case they think it expedient so to do, by order apportion the said rent between the land comprised in such holding and such incorporeal hereditament and declare the appointed day for such holding.

(4) Where sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , would apply to a holding but for the fact that part of such holding is held in fee farm or for lives or years renewable for ever or for a term of years of which sixty or more were unexpired at the passing of the Land Act, 1923 , the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) may, if having regard to all the circumstances of the case they think it expedient so to do, by order divide such holding into separate holdings and apportion the rent of such holding between such separate holdings and declare the appointed day for any such separate holding to which sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , applies.

(5) The next preceding sub-section of this section shall not be precluded from applying to a holding by reason only of the rent of such holding being payable partly in respect of the land comprised in such holding and partly in respect of an incorporeal hereditament, and, in any such case any apportionment of such rent under the said next preceding sub-section shall be so made that an apportioned part of such rent is payable partly out of a separate holding (created under the said next preceding sub-section) to which sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Land Act, 1923 , does not apply and partly out of such incorporeal hereditament.

(6) An appeal shall lie to the Appeal Tribunal from every order made by the Lay Commissioners (other than the members of the Appeal Tribunal) under this section, and the decision of the Appeal Tribunal on any such appeal shall be final subject only to an appeal to the Supreme Court on questions of law.

Amendment of section 44 of the Land Act, 1931.

42.—Paragraph (e) of sub-section (1) of section 44 of the Land Act, 1931 , is hereby amended by adding at the end of that paragraph the following words, that is to say:—

“or for the purpose of resale under the powers conferred on the Land Commission by section 32 of the Land Act, 1933 , to the persons or bodies mentioned in section 31 of the Land Act, 1923 , as extended by the Land Act, 1933 ”.

Untenanted land held under fee farm grant or long lease.

43.—The following provisions shall have effect in relation to applications under section 44 of the Land Act, 1931 (as amended by section 42 of the Land Act, 1933 , and by this Act), that is to say:—

(a) whenever, on any such application, it appears to the Land Commission—

(i) that a portion only of such parcel has substantial and actual value as building ground, or

(ii) that a portion only of such parcel does not satisfy the conditions set forth in sub-section (1) of the said section 44 as so amended, or

(iii) that the rent reserved by the fee farm grant or the lease under which such parcel is held is payable partly in respect of such parcel and partly in respect of an incorporeal hereditament (whether with or without other land),

the Land Commission may grant such application in respect of that portion (in this section referred to as the said granted portion) of such parcel in respect of which they are of opinion that such application should be granted and may accordingly declare that the said granted portion shall vest in the Land Commission on the appointed day and may either apportion the rent reserved by the fee farm grant or lease under which such parcel is held between the said granted portion and the residue (including any other land or any incorporeal hereditament held under the said fee farm grant or lease) of such parcel or exclusively charge the said rent on the said granted portion;

(b) whenever the Land Commission grant any such application in respect of portion only of the parcel of land to which such application relates, the said section 44 (as so amended) shall apply in relation to the said granted portion as if it were such parcel of land as is mentioned in the said section 44 (as so amended), and the rent or part of a rent exclusively charged on or apportioned to the said granted portion by the Land Commission shall be deemed for the purposes of the said section 44 (as so amended) to be the rent payable by the owner of such parcel in respect of the said granted portion thereof;

(c) 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 , any such application may be made and granted in respect of a parcel of land which constitutes or forms part of a holding purchased under any Land Purchase Act, but in every such case, if such application is granted, Part III of the Land Act, 1933 , shall not apply in respect of the purchase annuity set up in consequence of the granting of such application;

(d) any such application may be granted notwithstanding that paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of the said section 44 is not complied with if the Land Commission is satisfied that the failure to comply with that paragraph graph is due solely to the fact that a court or a mortgagee has appointed a receiver over the parcel of land to which such application relates or over the rents and profits thereof and such parcel is being worked or let or otherwise managed by such receiver;

(e) any such application may be granted notwithstanding that the fee farm grant or lease under which the parcel of land to which such application relates was, after the lodgment of such application, terminated on account or in consequence of the non-payment of the rent reserved thereby, and in every such case the said fee farm grant or lease shall be deemed for the purposes of such application to be subsisting;

(f) sub-section (7) of section 42 of the Land Act, 1933 , is hereby amended by substituting the words “the appointed day” for the words “the date of the lodgment of the application under that section”;

(g) whenever any such application has been granted, all payments on account of the rent of the parcel of land to which such application relates which are received by the landlord of such parcel after the date of the lodgment of such application shall be treated as payments on account of the rent payable in respect of such parcel for the three years immediately preceding the appointed day, and all sums so received by such landlord in excess of the amount payable by the applicant on account of the said rent payable for the said three years shall be recoverable by the applicant from such landlord as a claim against the purchase money;

(h) in fixing the standard purchase annuity of a parcel of land in respect of which any such application is granted, the Land Commission shall (without prejudice to their powers under sub-section (6) of section 42 of the Land Act, 1933 ) have regard to the value of such parcel at the date of the order granting such application but not so as to lessen the amount of such standard purchase annuity on account of a deterioration in value of such parcel which is, in the opinion of the Land Commission, due to the wilful neglect or default of the applicant;

(i) where the Land Commission is satisfied that any such application should be granted and that no person having or claiming an estate or interest in the parcel of land to which such application relates objects to the granting of such application, the Land Commission may, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (4) of the said section 44, make an order granting such application without listing such application for hearing;

(j) the power conferred on the Land Commission by sub-section (2) of the said section 44 to apportion the rent reserved by a fee farm grant or a lease shall extend to and be exercisable in cases in which the property held under such fee farm grant or lease includes an incorporeal hereditament as well as land, and in every such case references in the said section 44 (as so amended as aforesaid) to land shall, where the context so admits, be construed as including such incorporeal hereditament;

(k) no person shall be precluded from making any such application by reason only of an application under the said section 44 or under that section as amended by section 42 of the Land Act, 1933 , having been made in relation to the same parcel of land before the passing of this Act and refused;

(l) the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to every such application which was lodged before and is pending at the passing of this Act as well as to every such application which is lodged after such passing.

Amendment of sections 3 and 4 of the Land Act, 1927.

44.—(1) Every attempted sub-division or sub-letting of a holding in contravention of section 3 of the Land Act, 1927 , shall be void as against all persons.

(2) The prohibition contained in sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Land Act, 1927 , against letting a holding or parcel to which that sub-section applies without the consent of the Land Commission shall extend to the letting of a part of any such holding or parcel without the consent of the Land Commission, and the provisions of the said sub-section avoiding an attempted letting and empowering the Land Commission to cause the holding or parcel to be sold shall extend and apply accordingly.

Obligation to redeem drainage maintenance charges.

45.—Notwithstanding anything contained in section 16 of the Irish Land Act, 1903 , or any other enactment,—

(a) on the vesting of any land, whether tenanted or untenanted, in the Land Commission under the Land Purchase Acts, any drainage maintenance charge affecting such land at the date of such vesting shall be redeemed out of the purchase money of such land, and

(b) on the resumption of any holding by the Land Commission, any drainage maintenance charge affecting such holding at the date of such resumption shall be redeemed out of the resumption price of such holding.

Amendment of sub-section (2) of section 16 of the Irish Land Act, 1903

46.—All prescribed advertisements and notices which the Land Commission is required by sub-section (2) of section 16 of the Irish Land Act, 1903 , to publish and serve shall be respectively published and served at such time before making the relevant vesting order as shall be prescribed by rules made under this Act, and accordingly so much of the said sub-section (2) as limits the time for the publication of such advertisements and the service of such notices shall cease to have effect.