§ MR. THOMAS B. CURRAN (Donegal, N.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War when the proposed defence works at Leenan Head, Lough Swilly, will be begun; have the proposed works been contracted for; if so, who is the contractor; what is the amount of the contract; if provision will be inserted in the contract that the materials for the construction of the works will, as far as possible, be obtained in the surrounding districts, so as to give much needed employment to the people in this congested district; and if the terms of the Resolution with regard to the payment of fair wages in Government contracts has been complied with, with respect to the contracts for extending the forts at Inch Island, Nedds Point, Dunree Head, and the new forts at Leenan Head?
MR. POWELL-WILLIAMSThe contract for the works at Leenan Head has recently been made with Messrs. McCrea and McFarland, and the works should commence very shortly. It is not usual to divulge the amount of a contract. No provision has been made as to the employment of local materials; but the bulk of the construction will be in concrete, which will certainly be made from the stone of the district. The terms of the Resolution as to fair wages have been inserted in the contracts referred to.