asked the Minister for Lands and Agriculture if he is aware that there are some four or five tenants at Comeen Fews, County Waterford, who have offered to sell about 600 acres of mountain to the Department to be used for afforestation purposes; and if he will state when a decision will be come to in the matter.

The reply to the first portion of the question is in the affirmative. A decision will be arrived at when it is possible to secure in the district sufficient offers to make up a compact block of land suitable for afforestation, free of all rights, and procurable at a price within the limits applicable to the acquisition of lands by the Department for afforestation purposes. The offers so far received do not constitute a block of this nature.