§ MR. T.M. HEALY (Louth, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland will he inquire whether the 10 men in the two police huts on the Brook estate, County Wexford, pay 4s. 4d. per month for barrack accommodation, or £26 yearly, while the annual rent of the huts is only £2 10s.; what becomes of the surplus; are police in such stations compelled always to serve two years there; and, in view of the trying character of the night duty, would it be possible to shorten this term?
MR. J. MORLEYIt is a, fact that the 10 men in the two police huts on the Brook estate pay 4s. 4d. per month for barrack accommodation, or £26 yearly, while the annual rent of the site of the huts is £2 10s. each. The huts in which the men are accommodated are regarded as police barracks, and were erected at public expense. The deduction of 4s. 4d. is made pursuant to Section 2 of the Constabulary and Police Act of 1883, and is applied in reduction of the amount voted under sub-head "Pay" of the Constabulary Vote. There is no rule of the nature indicated in the third paragraph; but having regard to the necessity for men of good local knowledge on the estate, it is considered that the men there should serve about two years, and for this reason it is not desirable to shorten the term.