§ CAPTAIN DONELAN (Cork, E.)On behalf of the honourable Member for Mid-Cork, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Commissioner of Valuation has, after a period of 52 years, re- 349 duced the valuation of the Great Southern and Western Railway by the amount of £1,084 5s. in the Millstreet Rural District, county Cork; and whether, having regard to the hardship imposed upon the district council by the reduction in question, the Commissioner will be directed to reconsider his decision.
MR. G.W.BALFOURA re-valuation of the Great Southern and Western Railway system was made this year at the request of the Tralee Board of Guardians. The effect of this re-valuation has been to increase the rateable value of the railway on certain sections of the line, and to reduce it on others—the net result being a considerable increase. On the section running through Millstreet Rural District there was a decrease amounting to £1,081 5s. It is open to any ratepayer in the district to appeal against the decision of the Commissioner of Valuation, and if such an appeal be lodged, and if it be proved to his satisfaction that the present valuation of the railway is unfair, he will be prepared to reconsider the matter.