§ MR. MACVEAGHTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can say what is the meaning of the word personal as applied in the printed Estimates to the salaries of certain officers of the Irish Agricultural Department; whether he can furnish particulars of the names and official titles of all officers of the Department who are in the possession of personal salaries, showing in each case the number of years served towards pension, and indicating, in any case where these officers' salaries are in excess of those included in the original Estimates approved by the Treasury for their respective posts, the amount of such excess, and explaining the circumstances under which the original Estimate has been exceeded.
(Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) The term personal salary means that the salary specified is personal to the present holder of the office, and that on the occurrence of a vacancy the amount will be reconsidered. The officers of the Department in receipt of such salaries, with their length of service, are—Mr. Cantrell, Chief Clerk, 36 years; Mr. Porter, Agricultural Inspector, 16 years; Mr. Green, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, 14 years; Mr. Barrett, Professor of Physics, 30 years; Mr. Hartley, Professor of Chemistry, 25 years. The amounts of the several salaries, and the normal scales attached to the post hold by each of the officers in question, are given in the printed Estimates for 1903–4. It is not possible to 1471 explain within the limits of an answer to a Question the circumstances in which the personal salaries were respectively given.