§ MR. DUFFYTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to a Resolution passed by the Galway County Council at its meeting on the 18th instant, wherein disapproval is expressed of the action of the Department of Agriculture in withholding the payment of their promised contribution of £1,100 towards the improvement of Kinvarra Harbour; and whether, in view of the necessity of completing the improvements to the harbour and the extension of the pier, he will take steps to see that the undertaking arrived at, as between the county council and the Deparment of Agriculture, is carried out with the least possible delay.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Resolution referred to has been received. The proposed harbour works at Kinvarra are in two sections. In one of these, the cost of which is £1,900, the works are already in progress under the Marine Works Act, £1,100 having been provided under that Act, and £800 by the county council. The other scheme, which involves a cost of £1,600, consists of an extension proposed by the county council to which the Department of Agriculture proposes to contribute £1,100. The Department have no desire to withdraw their offered contribution, but a legal difficulty has arisen as to the powers of the county council to contribute their share of the cost. This matter is, at present, receiving the earnest attention of the Government.