§ COLONEL HUGHES-HALLETT (Rochester)asked the Secretary of State for War, Whether, in view of the insanitary condition of the Royal Barracks, in Dublin, which has occasioned several instances of typhoid fever among the troops stationed there, chiefly among the officers—one or two cases being attended with fatal results—any steps are being taken, or will be taken, to render these barracks safe to inhabit in the future; and, whether the troops will be moved to more healthy quarters and the barracks condemned?
§ THE SUEVEYOR GENERAL OF THE ORDNANCE (Mr. NORTHCOTE) (Exeter)(who replied) said: All precautions which can be taken to insure good ventilation and drainage in the Royal Barracks in Dublin are thoroughly attended to, and money is provided in next year's Estimates for this purpose. It cannot, however, be denied that the barracks are too crowded, and that the site is disadvantageous in a hygienic point of view. Although from military reasons it is improbable that the site can be abandoned, it is in contemplation to erect barracks in a more healthy situation, which will enable the number of men in the Royal Barracks to be materially reduced, and allow of the ventilation being improved by the demolition of some of the buildings which now crowd the area.