§ MR. W. ABRAHAM (Limerick, W.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland what is the number of the Police Force to which the County of Limerick is entitled; how many extra police are now serving in the county, and at what cost to the ratepayers; and when will the question of removing or reducing the extra force be considered?
§ MR. MADDENThe free quota of Constabulary to which the County Limerick is entitled under the last triennial re-distribution is 404. At the beginning of last year the extra force in 632 that county numbered 172 men. This number has been gradually reduced, as circumstances admitted, to the present number of 144, and the question of a further reduction is now under consideration. The charge for the present extra force to the county is at the rate of about £4,900 per annum.