§ MR. O'DOWD (Sligo, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department will he explain on what grounds a salary of £450 per annum is paid to a Church of England prison chaplain, whilst the highest a Roman Catholic priest engaged in the same service can receive is £300, although in some of the largest prisons in England the Roman Catholic Chaplains have most work to do, having in some cases to take sole charge of the education of prisoners; and, whether, in view of these facts, he will undertake to have Roman Catholic chaplains' salaries adjusted on the same basis as the salaries of the Church of England chaplains.
§ * MR. RITCHIEThe maximum salary of a Roman Catholic priest is £300 a year, while that of a Church of England chaplain is £450 a year. This was settled many years ago on the report of the Commission of 1881, on the ground that the prison chaplain's duties are prescribed by rule and include responsibility for secular instruction in the prison. I am not aware that there has been any dissatisfaction felt or expressed at the arrangement, which has worked apparently without friction for many years, and I am not prepared to take any steps to alter it.