§ MR. JOSEPH DEVLIN (Kilkenny, N.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the fact that Catholic gentlemen originally transferred to the Veterinary Branch of the. Agricultural Department of Ireland are engaged in the following superior duties, viz., the drafting and writing of important correspondence, the conducting of registries, and the interviewing of callers on public business, and that their salaries, after eleven years service, are only £97 10s. per annum, while salaries ranging from £150 to £450 per annum are paid to officials of other religious persuasions serving in the Department and performing identical duties, he will cause an independent inquiry to be made into this condition of things.
1156 (Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) I have repeatedly stated that there are no grounds for any further inquiry. The suggestion that the clerks referred to are placed at a disadvantage owing to their religious persuasion is wholly unfounded.