§ MR. EDWARD BARRYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will state in what proportion is the Exchequer grant of £40,000 divided amongst the Irish counties; how much has been given out of this grant to the county of Cork from 1891–1905; what amount was given to Cork for the year ended March, 1906; and how much of the total has been unexpended in Cork.
MR. BRYCEThe sum divisible amongst the counties is, approximately, £37,000 per annum, as about £3,000 of the grant goes to the six municipal boroughs. The shares of the counties are determined in the same way as if the money were the estate duty grant, namely, on the basis of the certified expenditure of the counties on roads and bridges in the year 1887. The grant did not become available until 1896, because for five years after the passing of the Land Purchase Act, 1891, it was, in pursuance of that Act, accumulated to form a reserve fund of £200,000 in respect of land purchase. During the ten years which have elapsed since 1896 the amount paid to the county of Cork for labourers' cottages has been £34,871, of which the sum of £3,466 was paid in respect of the year ended March 31st, last. No portion of the grant remains unexpended in the case of the county of Cork.