§ MR. MACVEAGH (Down, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the intern warders of Tullamore Prison have to sleep in a damp room without fire or heating pipes; that the dampness has been caused by the stoppage of rain-water on the roof; that these warders are locked up in this room at 10 o'clock each night until roll-call the next morning without any means of communication with the governor or chief warder in case of emergency; that the same warders are compelled to sleep in a room in the invalid ward when they are off duty, both before and after night duty, thereby depriving them of the comfort of the beds they had to procure at their own expense when joining the service; that the officer on night duty has to perform nine hours' duty, viz., from 9.45 p.m. till 6.45 a.m. on the following morning, having during that time to mark tell-tale clock every fifteen minutes and fire two furnaces during that period without any relief or the means of preparing food; and, if so, whether he will make inquiries into these matters with a view to having them remedied.
(Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) The Prisons Board reports that the room in which the intern warders sleep is perfectly dry and comfortable; that on grounds of health fires are not allowed in warders' bedrooms except in severe weather; that on no occasion have the warders been locked up in this room, and that the means of communication with the night guard in case of emergency are adequate; that warders returning off night duty are allowed to rest in a room specially furnished for the purpose, an arrangement of which they have never complained and which was made in order to conduce to their own comfort; that the hours and duties of the night guard are common to all prisons and entail no grievance or hardship; that the night guard at Tullamore Prison has access to the kitchen and every facility for preparing food.