§ MR. BLAKE (Longford, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that an objection has been raised by the Local Government Board to the scale of remuneration proposed to be paid to the dispensary doctor of the Granard Union as inadequate, although two well-qualified gentlemen have applied for the appointment upon the terms stated in the advertisement; and whether the Local Government Board have power to fix the salaries of dispensary doctors.
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURIn the case referred to in the first paragraph, the late medical officer was paid a salary of £120 a year, and the guardians proposed to reduce this salary to £80. The Local Government Board have pointed out that the late medical officer had been in receipt of a salary of £120 since the year 1876, that the area under his charge was 22,146 acres, with a population of 4,452, that the medical relief tickets are more numerous than in any other dispensary district of the union except Granard, and that the Board were not prepared to approve of the permanent reduction of the salary as proposed. The Board have now, with my approval, fixed £100 as the Dispensary salary. Unless reasonable salaries are given, I do not see how the Board can hold medical officers strictly responsible for the prompt and efficient discharge of their duties in large and populous areas where the provision of the necessary means of locomotion entails heavy outlay and expense. The Board have full power, under Section 8 of the Medical Charities (Ireland) Act, 1851, to regulate the salaries and allowances of dispensary medical officers, and possibly this fact, was taken into consideration by the candidates applying for the position.