HC Deb 21 April 1904 vol 133 cc850-1
MR. SLOAN

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that an attendant named Kenny, of the Ballinasloe Lunatic Asylum, indicted injuries upon an inmate under his charge; and if, in view of the fact that the acting medical superintendent dismissed Kenny, who has since been fined by a magistrate in £5, he can say for what reason have the asylum committee reinstated Kenny.

MR. WYNDHAM

The facts are as stated. Kenny was ordered to pay a fine of £5 or, in default, to undergo two months imprisonment with hard labour. The appointment and dismissal of asylum attendants are vested in the committee without power of intervention on the part of the Executive. The committee, I understand, considered that the fine of £5, together with a caution which it administered to Kenny, was sufficient punishment. Should the committee insist on retaining the services of Kenny the Government will consider how far its action is consistent with the conditions upon which the Capitation Grant in aid of the maintenance of the insane is payable under Section 58 (2) of the Local Government Act, 1898.