§ MR. JAMES O'KELLY (Roscommon, N.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that a demand has been made by the Treasury on the Rural District Council of Boyle for the sum of £81, the official expenses incurred in connection with a recent petition against the election of a district councillor for the Boyle urban division; whether it is in the absolute discretion of the Commissioner to grant these costs against the body of the ratepayers who were not guilty of any breach of the law; whether any, and, if so, what facilities are afforded the rate payers of checking the account; and whether the Government will consider the wishes of the district council that this amount should not be levied on the district.
§ (Answered by Mr. McKenna.) The Chief Secretary has asked me to answer this Question. It is the fact that a demand has been made upon the Boyle Rural District Council as stated. Under Section 101 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, these moneys are repayable out of the local rate unless the Court by which the petition was tried ordered that they should be repaid by the petitioner or the respondent. Such an order is within the absolute discretion of the Court. Under the statute above quoted the moneys are paid in the first instance by the Treasury, which is responsible for their correctness upon the facts stated by the Court. It is not usual to submit the detailed accounts to the ratepayers, but the amount paid to each officer engaged in the trial of the petition is specified in the Treasury certificate by which repayment is claimed. As the provisions of the statute as to repayment are imperative, the Government has no power to give effect to the wishes of the district council in the matter.