§ MR. BIGGAR (for Mr. HEALY)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether Professor Curtis was appointed to be a Secretary of Intermediate Education, at £1,000 a year, within a few years of the age at which public servants are encouraged to retire on pension; did his then health incapacitate him from discharging the duties of his Queen's College Professorship, except by deputy; and, did his length of service at the time entitle him to a substantial pension; would his superannuation now, as if he were still a Queen's College official, and the extinction of the second secretaryship, relieve the Intermediate Education Fund of an unproductive charge of £1,000 a year; and, will he recommend this till the organisation of the Department is remodelled by legislation?
§ MR. TREVELYANSir, Professor Curtis was appointed as an Assistant 1888 Commissioner of Intermediate Education between four and five years ago. He had not then, nor has he yet, reached the minimum age at which a public servant can retire on pension on the ground of age. That consideration, however, was of comparatively little importance in this case, as he was being appointed to a position which carries with it no claim to pension. It is not the case, as stated in the Question, that his state of health was such as to incapacitate him from discharging in person the duties of the Professorship which he held prior to his present appointment, and that he had to do so by deputy. On the contrary, he discharged his duties without interruption for a period of 17 years, with the exception of a few weeks, when he was suffering from temporary illness. Dr. Curtis cannot now be superannuated as if he were still a Queen's College official.