HC Deb 13 February 1902 vol 102 cc1259-60
MR. M'FADDEN (Donegal, E.)

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the cause of the delay in the holding of the inquiry by a Local Government Board inspector in connection with representations lodged with the Strabane No. 2 Rural District Council, over 12 months ago, for the erection of labourers' cottages under two schemes formulated by the Council.

MR. WYNDHAM

The Local Government Board has no scheme before it from this council awaiting inquiry.

MR. M'FADDEN

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he has received a copy of a Resolution passed at a meeting of the labourers of the Strabane No. 2 Rural District, County Donegal, held at Murlog on the 19th January last, protesting against the action of the Local Government Board in delaying schemes for the erection of labourers' cottages in the district: Is he aware that there are now pending four schemes for the erection of 120 cottages in the district; that the scheme known as Scheme D, for the erection of 20 cottages, was adopted five years ago, and, although a contract for carrying out this scheme has been entered into, no work in connection with it has yet been undertaken by the contractor; and that Scheme F was adopted by the District Council about three years ago, and the contract for carrying it out has not yet been entered into: And if, considering that the labourers on whose behalf representations were lodged in these schemes have been compelled to live during the periods named in houses condemned by the sanitary authority as unfit for human habitation, steps will be taken by the Board to have the schemes completed without further delay.

MR. WYNDHAM

The only schemes in which the usual preliminaries have not yet been completed, are those included in the Provisional Order of December last, and in an Order about to be issued—for 55 cottages in all. The duty of pressing forward the contracts in the cases of the remaining 65 cottages authorised by Orders previously issued, rests solely with the District Council, and the Local Government Board is in no way responsible.