§ MR. T. W. RUSSELL (Tyrone, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what are the names of the five agricultural inspectors under the Department in Ireland; whether their status is the same; if so, can he explain why one of these officers draws a salary of £955 per annum, in addition to a naval pension, whilst the others are paid at the rate of £300; and if the duties of these officers differ in any respect.
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. BRYCE,) Aberdeen, S.There are six inspectors on the agricultural staff of the Department, viz., Mr. J. S. Gordon, chief agricultural inspector, and Messrs. E. Gallagher, J. H. Hinchcliff, T. S. Porter, A. R. Robertson, and J. Wood, agricultural inspectors. The five agricultural inspectors are all of the same status. The scale of salary of the chief agricultural inspector is £500, by increments of £20 to £700; and the scale of salary of the agricultural inspectors, except Mr. Porter, is £300, by increments of £15 to £400. The circumstances in which Mr. Porter draws a salary of £955 a year were very fully stated in my reply to the Question of the hon. Member for West Wicklow on 27th February last, † to which I beg to refer the hon. Member. Briefly, the fact is that Mr. Porter was transferred to the Department of Agriculture at his existing salary in pursuance of the Act establishing the Department. It may be noted that Mr. Porter's salary includes a subsistence allowance of £200 a year, whereas the subsistence allowances of the other inspectors are separately charged. There is no substantial difference between the duties of these officers.
§ MR. T. W. RUSSELLSo that this gentleman is getting £955 for work for 1484 which the other inspectors only receive £300?
§ MR. BRYCEI fully explained the circumstances last February. † The matter is determined by statute, and the Agricultural Department have no power over it.