§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIEN (Cork)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the position of sergeant of the Royal Irish Constabulary at the Blackrock Station, Cork, is now vacant; whether, with the exception of the late sergeant, who held office there for eight months, a Catholic has never filled this position; and whether care will be taken in filling the present vacancy that deserving Catholics will not be excluded because of their religion.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Inspector-General of the Royal Irish Constabulary informs rue that there is no vacancy at present for a sergeant at Blackrock Station. In the event of a vacancy care will be taken to select the most suitable man irrespective of religion. The present sergeant is a Catholic, but the three preceding sergeants whose service at the station covered a period of about thirty-five years, were Protestants.