§ MR. GILHOOLYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he can state when the amount certified by the auditor as being due to the Cork District Lunatic Asylum for the quarter ended 31st March, 1899, will be paid.
§ The following questions also appeared on the Paper:—
§ MR. GILHOOLYTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether any moneys have been paid out of the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account for the maintenance of lunatic asylums for the year 1898; and whether, seeing that the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account did not come into force until the 1st of April, 1899, moneys which became due in 1898 were properly paid; and if not, will the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account be recouped from the Imperial Treasury.
§ MR. COGAN (Wicklow, E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the capitation grant paid to the lunatic asylums in Ireland in the year 1899 was on account of maintenance for the year 1898, and that the grants were paid out of the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account established by the Local Government Act, 1898, commencing on the 1st of April, 1899; whether any payments could have been made out of this fund for any service prior to the latter date; and if these grants were so irregularly paid, what steps were taken to recoup the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account.
§ MR. WYNDHAMI will reply at the same time to the three questions on this subject. Government contributions to lunatic asylums in Ireland are, and have been, paid in or about the month of June in each year. This arrangement was not altered by the Local Government Act of 1898, and every asylum has since that Act, as before it, received in June a contribution calculated upon twelve months expenditure. The Act provided that 359 the twelve months upon which the contribution was calculated should be the preceding financial year, instead of the preceding calendar year. The effect of this change was slightly to increase the amount of the first Government contribution. The Local Taxation Account, however, as stated by my right hon. friend the late Secretary to the Treasury on 30th April, 1900, became liable for payments calculated from 1st January, 1808, whereas its income was calculated only from 1st April, 1898. It was, therefore, repaid the difference by the Supplementary Estimate of July last.