§ MR. HEALYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If his attention has been called to the following paragraph in the "Daily Express" of 21st March:—
At the meeting of the Ballina Guardians on Saturday, 19th March, the relieving officer presented an application from Mrs. Daley, of Crossmolina, the wife of Thomas Daley, who was last week arrested and lodged in Kilmainham. It was shown that she had five children, the youngest being an infant of one month, and that she had fifteen acres of land in cultivation. The clerk said the Act provided for the granting of out-door relief. The Board finally decided on granting 3s. 6d. per week;and, whether, in view of the fact that the family are deprived of the father's help to work their holding, the Government could influence the Local Government Board to take steps to have the grant increased, say to a pound a-week?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER,in reply, said, that the Local Government Board would take care that if the Guardians thought this woman ought to receive extra out-door relief, that the necessary order should be given empowering them to grant it. The Local Government Board had no power to order the Guardians to give out-door relief beyond what the Guardians thought right, and the grant might be given either in food or fuel.
§ MR. HEALYasked, whether he was to understand that the Local Government Board had already communicated with the Board of Guardians on the subject?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER,in reply, said, that his information stated that they had; but there appeared to be some doubt as to whether the Board had power to make the grant. The Local Government Board would take care, if the Guardians had power to give the outdoor relief, so far as the order required was concerned, there would be no difficulty.