MR. T. M. HEALYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if his attention has been called to the letter of the Under Secretary to the English Local Government Board as to the state of the inmates in the North Dublin Workhouse and the disparity in the rates between the North and South Dublin Unions; and does ho propose to take any action in this matter?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURMy attention has been directed to the letter referred to in the first paragraph. The North Dublin Workhouse is very much overcrowded, but in other respects it is not badly managed, and the guardians spare no pains to do what they can, within the circumscribed limits of their pre- 53 mises, to ensure the comfort of the sick and destitute. Unfortunately, there is no room to build, and although the Local Government Board have been pressing the guardians for years to build with special reference to providing better accommodation for the lunatics, the guardians have experienced much difficulty in obtaining a suitable site for building elsewhere. They have been for some months past in negotiation for a definite site, and they appear quite prepared to commence operations. With respect to the disparity of rates between the North and South Dublin Unions, it would no doubt be within the power of the Local Government Board to do away with this disparity by amalgamating the two unions. I am not prepared to say that such a course is out of the question, but it is one which would involve such important administrative and other changes that it could not be adopted without the most careful consideration, and without giving ample opportunity for an expression of local public opinion on the question.