§ MR. JAMES O'CONNOR (Wicklow, W.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has seen a report of the proceedings at a recent sitting of the Rathfarnham magistrates; whether District Inspector Lanyon, Dr. Croly, Constable John Ferris, and all the Justices present concurred in condemning the lock-up as a black hole under the stairs, without ventilation, and dangerous to the lives of prisoners; and whether the magistrates consider the court-house altogether unfit for its purpose; if so, who is responsible; and will he take any action in the matter?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe statements in the second and third paragraphs are reported with substantial accuracy in the newspaper cutting which the honourable Member has been good enough to forward to me. As regards the place hitherto used as a lock-up, the Inspector-General has given instructions that it shall no longer be used for this purpose, and that in future prisoners shall be placed in the day-room of the barrack with two constables in charge. I am afraid the difficulty in the way of providing proper accommodation for prisoners at this barrack has been due, in a great measure, to the defective accommodation for the men stationed in it, and its general unsuitability for the purposes of a barrack, as well as to the fact that no other suitable building can be procured in the village. The authority responsible for the court-house is the Grand Jury, whose functions in this respect will be transferred to the County Council by the Act of last year.