§ MR. LONSDALE (Armagh, Mid)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the horse-breeding schemes of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction do not include any provision for the encouragement of the breeding of carriage horses; and whether, in view of the fact that it is mainly this class of horse that is bred in Armagh and the adjoining counties, he will adopt measures to encourage the breeding of carriage horses by grants equivalent to those allotted to the breeders of hunters.
§ MR. WALTER LONGI assume that my hon. friend's Question refers to the breed known as hackneys. It has been decided by the Department, on the advice of their Special Advisory Committee on Horse-Breeding, that it would be injurious to the horse-breeding industry in Ireland to subsidise this breed from public funds.