§ MR. M'CARTAN (Down, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, whether his attention has been called to the destruction by fire of the lighthouse at Donaghadee, county Down; whether he can state when the new lighthouse will be erected there, and when it is likely to be ready for service to ships coming into Belfast Lough; whether any further attempt will be made for removal of the sand, stones, and silting which at present render Donaghadee Harbour dangerous to vessels coming there for commerce or for shelter; and if he can state at what cost the Belfast Harbour Commissioners would for a few weeks let their steam dredger for the purpose of cleaning and rendering the harbour safe.
§ MR. HANBURYThe re-erection of the Donaghadee Harbour lighthouse does not rest with the Board of Works, but
† See The Parliamentary Debates [Fourth Series], Vol. lxxxii., page 1103.588 with the Board of Irish Lights, and I am not in a position to state when the new lighthouse is likely to be ready for service. In September, 1898, the Board of Works caused an inspection of the harbour to be made, and were advised that it was sufficiently safe for the boats frequenting it. There is no reason to believe that its condition has been to any substantial extent altered since that date. As the harbour was not constructed as a harbour of refuge, and cannot be regarded as one, there is no reason for undertaking the work suggested in paragraph three, and it is not proposed to do so. I am not in a position to state what the hire of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners' steam dredger would cost. It was ascertained in October, 1898, that the only dredger then possessed by the Belfast Harbour Commissioners available for hire was entirely unsuited for the economical removal of material at Donaghadee.