§ MR. JOHN ROCHE (Galway, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to a decision of the Local Government Board refusing to allow the erection of certain labourers' cottages in the Union of Ballinasloe, upon the ground that unmarried labourers are not eligible as tenants; if there is any section in the Labourers Acts which empowers the Local Government Board to make such an order; and will he cause | inquiry to be made into this matter, with a view to its reconsideration.
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURThe Board do not raise any objection to the erection of cottages for unmarried men, provided they have someone dependent on them who would live with them and take care of the cottage while they are absent at work. In the present case they informed the rural district council that Section 4 of the Act of 1883 contemplated that cottages should be provided for the accommodation of "agricultural labourers and their families," and that unless the persons referred to in the council's resolution had other persons dependent on them for whom house accommodation would be required the Board considered that the council should not incur the expense of including such cases in their proposed improvement scheme.