Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Gleeson thinks I will drop a bomb and ask where the 300 acres that have been taken over by such and such are. I will not do that, however. There are 40 holdings, some of which are small, but I would hazard a wild guess that nobody from the Department has walked near them since the Land Commission gave them to it 100 years ago. It is quite likely the assets have been lost to the State as a result of squatters' rights. I recommend that an assessment be done of all the properties. If they are too small to keep an eye on, they should be sold, perhaps to the appropriate local authority. If it is added together, it is a great deal of land, even if it is just scrub, forestry or whatever. In the case of Haulbowline Island, there will be plans for it, and perhaps the council will buy it and there will be a use. The people own the land but, in reality, much of it may well have been taken over by the mearing farmer or the mearing person over the years, and it may not be an asset to the State.