§ MR. P. A. M'HUGHI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that intense distress exists in the scheduled districts of North Leitrim, owing to the failure of the potato crop last year and other causes; can he state the amount expended by the Congested Districts Board for inspections of, and reports on, the condition of North Leitrim, and the amount expended by that Board towards the relief of distress in, and the permanent improvement of, the scheduled districts in that Parliamentary constituency; and, what steps does he propose taking to avert starvation in North Leitrim during the coming Spring and Summer?
MR. J. MORLEYThe Local Government Board inform me that no reports have been received from their Inspector, with whom they are in frequent communication, as to the existence of severe distress in North Leitrim. The Board inform me that the numbers on relief in this district are now considerably below the numbers at the corresponding period of last year, and that the poor rates are moderate. It would not be practicable to allocate the cost of local inquiries made by the Congested Districts Board in any one district. Grants amounting to £102 have been made by the Board towards the knitting and shirt-making industries at Bally- 554 Shannon (which district includes part of North Leitrim), and arrangements are being made to rent premises and pay teachers at the same place, in connection with the shirt-making industry. A loan of £200 has also been made for the development, of the straw-bottle envelope industry at Kiltyclogher, and some bulls and boars have been sent to the district under the Board's Agricultural Scheme.