HC Deb 25 June 1906 vol 159 cc609-10
MR. McKILLOP (Armagh, S.)

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland can he state what is the age of the present governor of the Belfast prison; how long has he been in the service, and does the sixty-five rule apply to his case; can he say how many prisons he has been governor in before his appointment to Belfast; and how many escapes and attempted escapes have taken place in each, during the term of his governorship.

(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) I am informed that the Governor of Belfast prison is sixty-one years of age. He has been in the prison service for forty years. The rule as to retirement at sixty-five does not apply in his case, as he is one of the existing officers who were transferred to the service of the general Prisons Board under the Prisons Act of 1877. He has been governor of threes prisons besides Belfast, namely, Tralee, Limerick, and Clonmel. One escape and one attempted escape occurred during his governorship of Tralee prison, and one escape during his governorship of Limerick Prison.