§ MR. MAINS (Donegal, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1) whether it has been reported to him that the Local Government Inspector (Mr. Agnew) on recent visits to the following unions—namely, Carrickmacross, Castleblaney, Larne, and Ballymena, found that the masters of these unions had more paupers entered on the books and charged for than were in the establishments; and, if so, in what other unions has he found a similar state of things; (2) whether the Local Government Board will in future instruct all their Inspectors, when they visit the unions in their districts, to see that the number of paupers in the house corresponds with the number in the books; and (3) what steps the Local Government Board will take in face of this loss to the ratepayers?
MR. J. MORLEY(1) The fact is as stated in the first paragraph; and a similar state of things was also found to exist in the case of the Newtownards Workhouse. (2) The Local Government Board will consider whether it is possible to adopt steps to prevent the occurrence of similar abuses in these and other unions in Ireland. (3) The masters of the workhouses named have been called upon for written explanations as to the discrepancies in question, and upon the receipt of these explanations the Board will decide what further action should be taken in the matter.