§ MR. JASPER TULLY (Leitrim, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland—(1) whether his attention has been directed to the action of the Inspector of the Local Government Board at the meeting of the Longford Board of Guardians on Saturday last, who threatened the guardians that he would have the Board dissolved the same as the Athlone Union if they did not dismiss their assistant night nurses, and put heavy expense on the rates for an extra nurse; and (2) whether, as the present system of night nursing in the union hospital has worked economically and well, and is as effective as the system in force in most of the north of Ireland unions, he will direct that the Local Government Board will take no further action in the matter?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURI have no knowledge of any such statement as is alleged in the first paragraph. It is the fact, however, that the medical officer of the Longford Union has reported strongly in favour of the appointment of a trained night nurse, and has stated that the lives of the patients are endangered by the absence of such an officer. The Inspector of the Local Government Board corroborated the medical officer's report as to the necessity for a night nurse. The guardians, some months ago, made a temporary arrangement, and gave the Board an undertaking that if this arrangement did not prove satisfactory they would, on the 31st March, appoint a trained night nurse. The arrangement, in the opinion of the medical officer and Local Government Inspector, has proved wholly inadequate, and the Board have now called upon the guardians to carry out their undertaking.