§ MR. O'MARA (Kilkenny, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will state the number of appointments made by nomination and the number by competition in the High Courts in Ireland during the past five years; and what the number of vacancies now are, when they are to be filled, and how.
MR. BRYCEI am informed by the Secretary to the Lord Chancellor that the regulations as to the filling of vacancies in the offices of the Supreme Court by open competition apply only to the junior clerkships. During the last five years eleven junior clerks have been appointed. Of these, five were appointed by open competition, two were promoted to be junior clerks in their respective offices under statutory provisions applying to themselves, four were appointed by Judges whose rights of patronage personal to themselves) still subsist, and one clerk who had passed a qualifying examination 1274 on entering the service was transferred from another department to the Chancery Registrar's Office. There is one vacancy for a junior clerkship in the High Court to be filled up by open competition in the usual course, and the date for the examination will be shortly fixed. There is also a vacant clerkship in the Central Office under the Local Registration of Title (Ireland) Act, but the status of the clerkships and requirements of that office are under consideration.