§ MR. MURPHY (Kerry, E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, seeing that the action of the Local Government Board, taken on the report of their auditor, Mr. Browne, in drawing the attention of the Valuation Office to the present position in connection with the Limerick and Kerry Railway, has resulted in a loss of £486 12s. 4d. of the amount payable to the County Council of Kerry out of the Local Taxation (Ireland) Act, he will take any steps to prevent such loss, having regard to the fact that the Under-Secretary, on January 16th last, No. 637, wrote to the Council that the apportionment of the proceeds of the purchase of the Limerick and Kerry Railway was duly and legally made.
(Answered by Mr. Atkinson.) The county council in the year 1903 applied portion of the sum received under the Limerick and Kerry Railway Act in reduction of the rate estimates for charges on the guaranteeing baronies alone, and thereby received from the Local Taxation Account a larger contribution, to the extent of £486 12s. 4d., than they were legally entitled to. In the year 1904 the 401 county council adopted a different procedure, and apportioned part of the purchase-money in relief of the general rates. The letter of the Under-Secretary of January 16th last, in addition to intimating that the apportionment of the proceeds of the purchase of the Limerick and Kerry Railway for the year 1904 was duly and legally made, further stated that the sum of £5,225 7s. 2d. was subject to a deduction of £486 12s. 4d., to be refunded in respect of the back payments previously made by the Government to the county council in respect of the Limerick and Kerry Railway Company guarantee, as the result of previous apportionment of part of the purchase money in reduction of the rate estimates for charges on the guaranteeing baronies.