HC Deb 30 April 1907 vol 173 cc663-5
MR. P. A. McHUGH (Sligo, N.)

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state in detail the calculations from which the sum of £1,506 19s. 7d., deducted in respect of land purchase from grants payable to the county council of Sligo, was arrived at, also the calculations on which the sum of £66 17s. 5d. was directly deducted from the share of the Sligo urban district, and the sum of £79 from the share of the guardians of Sligo union; will full particulars of all deductions from grants be furnished to all public bodies concerned; is he aware that Sligo borough is one of the corporate towns in Ireland in which the rating powers of the municipal councils are limited by local Acts; and can he state the amount of the deductions in the other corporate towns similarly situated.

(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The £1,506 19s. 7d. deducted from the grants to the county Sligo includes £174 5s. 6d. drawn by the Irish Land Commission in respect of arrears, etc., under the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1891. The balance of £1,332 14s. Id., drawn under the Land Act, 1903, is made up of arrears of annuities £61 6s. 4d., and deficiency of income £1,271 7s. 9d. The arrears of annuities are the arrears actually existing in county Sligo, and the deficiency of income is the proportion of the total deficiency under this head chargeable to county Sligo on the basis of the advances outstanding at the close of the year immediately preceding. The sum of £1,506 19s. 7d. is the total liability for the whole county, and other local bodies in the county besides the county council contribute to make good this amount. The sum of £66 17s. 5d., directly deducted from the share of the Sligo urban district, was calculated as follows:—The net indebtedness of all the counties in Ireland in respect of land purchase (£73,218 12s. 5d.) was added to the sum available for distribution (£85,888 16s. 3d.), giving a total of £159,107 8s. 8d. The shares of the local bodies in county Sligo in this total amount were ascertained, in accordance with the basis of distribution provided by the Probate Duties (Scotland and Ireland) Act, 1888, to be the sums set forth in column 1 of the first appended statement. The shares of the local bodies in the total liability of the county were then calculated proportionately to these sums, the result being given in column 2 of the statement. In the case of the Sligo urban district it will be seen that this liability comes to the amount stated in the Question. The liability of the ratepayers in the urban district (namely £79) in respect of the deduction made from the share of the Sligo Board of Guardians was calculated on the proportion of the valuation of the urban district to that of the entire union, the valuation of these areas being, respectively, £22,324 and £104,216. It is the fact that the rating powers of the Sligo Corporation are limited for certain purposes under the local Acts. A further

Statement showing the shares of the local bodies in county Sligo in the sum of £159,107 8s. 8d. Death Duty Grant (of which £73,218 12s. 5d. had been withdrawn from the Guarantee Fund),and the deductions on account of the county liability amounting to £1,506 19s. 7d.:—
Unions and road authorities. Share in the sum of £159,107 8s. 8d. Deductions from foregoing shares (proportionately) of the county liability.
Unions:
£ s. d. £ s. d.
†Boyle (part of) 206 1 2 122 19 11
Dromore West 240 18 6 143 17 10
Sligo 610 3 6 364 4 1
Tobercurry 284 17 6 170 3 3
Road Authorities:—
Sligo Urban District 111 17 10 66 17 5
Sligo County Council 1,069 14 6 638 17 1
Total 2,523 13 0 1,506 19 7
† Remainder of union in county Roscommon.

Statement showing the sums deducted from the shares of non-county boroughs in the Death Duty Grant recently distributed:—

Non-county boroughs. Amount deducted from share in Grant as a road authority.
£ s. d.
Clonmel 83 7 5
Drogheda 12 13 3
Kilkenny 43 12 0
Sligo 66 17 5
Wexford 34 8 7