§ MR. J. P. FARRELLI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state what steps have been taken to arrange the areas of charge for special sanitary works under the Local Government Act; whether he is aware that in consequence of the passage of that Act local districts have already had urban charges levied on the general county rate as a union at large charge, thereby creating dissatisfaction amongst the rural population; and that waterworks and other sanitary works intended solely for the benefit of urban districts have been made leviable on union districts; and whether it is proposed by Order in Council or by legislation to remedy this grievance.
§ MR. ATKINSON (for Mr. G. W. BALFOUR)The law in regard to areas of charge for special sanitary expenses has not been changed by the Local Government (Ireland) Act, and the Local Government Board have taken no steps in the matter since the issue of their Orders of 15th May and 17th July last, which, having been validated by the Public Works Loans Act of last year, were supposed to have redressed the more important of the grievances then complained of. It is not a fact that waterworks and other charges for urban districts have been levied over unions, but small public health charges for portions of rural districts have been charged over the entire rural districts of which these portions form part. Any further alteration in the areas of charge thus fixed would probably be ultra vires, 1244 but the cases of one or two localities which were not included in the Amending Order of July last have since been the subject of representations to the Local Government Board, and it is under consideration whether it may not be advisable in the course of the present session to give the Board, by legislation, power to deal with such cases.