§ MR. J. DILLON (Mayo, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, whether he has read the reports of the agent of the Manchester Committee on the condition of the school children in the distressed districts in the West of Ireland; and, if he has, whether the Irish Government have decided to take any steps to deal with the state of things disclosed in those reports?—At the same time I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1) whether his attention has been directed to the report of the last meeting of the Dublin Mansion House Committee reported in the Dublin newspapers of 26th April; (2) whether he is aware that the funds of the Committee were reported to be exhausted and the accounts overdrawn, and that the Committee were obliged to refuse all applications for relief; (3) whether a return was laid before the Committee of the cost of supplying the children attending school in 15 very distressed parishes with one pennyworth of bread daily, amounting to 1388 £965 13s., and whether the Committee were unable to do anything, and postponed the matter; and (4) what steps the Government propose to meet this emergency?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURI have seen the reports, which were of a confidential nature, of the agent of the Manchester Committee relative to the condition of the school children in distressed districts in the west of Ireland. In the early part of this month I instructed the Local Government Board to issue directions to their inspectors requesting them to call the special attention of relieving officers to the condition of children with a view to the exercise of their powers of affording provisional relief in food, blankets, medical attendance, etc., to children in all cases in which it appeared that they were in the condition alleged in the report of the Manchester Committee. In answer to the second Question, I have read a newspaper account of the proceedings at the meeting mentioned, at which statements are reported to have been made to the effect quoted in the second and third paragraphs of the second Question. As regards the last paragraph of that Question, I have nothing to add to the statements made by me in the House on Friday last or to my reply to the inquiries addressed to me on the subject on Tuesday by the honourable Member for the St. Patrick Division.
§ MR. J. C. FLYNN (Cork, N.)Is the right, honourable Gentleman aware that the distress funds in Cork and Kerry are also exhausted?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURI have no information before me to that effect.