§ MR. M. HEALY (Cork)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the recent Report of the Government Inspectors with reference to the Cork Lunatic Asylum, and to the discussion thereon at the meeting of the Board of Governors on the 10th instant; whether it is 1012 the fact, as stated by one of the Governors, that the Asylum was built to accommodate only 500 inmates, and that the number of inmates is now 1,000; whether the Inspectors reported that the Asylum had reached the utmost limit to which it should be allowed to grow, and that every effort should be made to decrease the number of inmates; and whether the Government propose to take any action either as to this portion of the Report, or as to the complaints made in the Report as to want of cleanliness and proper sanitary arrangements in the establishment?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURIt is a fact that the Cork Asylum was originally built to accommodate only 500 patients. But since then, from time to time, very considerable structural additions have been made, though not to an extent sufficient for the accommodation of the present number of inmates which at the beginning of this month was 1,038. The Inspectors did express an opinion to the effect indicated in the third paragraph. The Inspectors' Report is under the consideration of the Government.