§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLOn behalf of the hon. Member for East Mayo, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland on what grounds the practice has been adopted in recent years of appointing temporary medical officers to Irish prisons, instead of appointing permanent medical officers as was formerly the practice.
§ MR. ATKINSONThe arrangement referred to has been adopted in the Irish prison service in order to assimilate the system to that previously existing in the Scotch service. The question of pensions is not affected, as these officers did not devote their whole time to the service before the introduction of the change and consequently were not eligible for pensions.