§ MR. MEEHANI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland can he say what is the salary of prison warders in Ireland; whether the minimum and maximum salaries are considerably below the minimum and maximum salaries paid to prison warders in England of the same rank and who discharge the same duties as warders in the Irish prisons service; can he say what are the minimum and maximum salaries 700 paid to clerks and storekeepers in the Irish prisons service; whether the salaries of those officers are considerably below the minimum and maximum salaries paid to officers of the same rank and standing in the English prisons service and discharging the same duties; and can he say on what grounds Irish prison officials of the same standing and discharging equally important duties are denied equality with their brother officers in England.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe hon. Member will find full information as to the scales of salary of prison officers in England and Ireland in the published Estimates for the current year. It is the fact that the scales of salary in Irish prisons are somewhat below the corresponding scales of salary in England; but I understand that the principle has never been admitted that the emoluments of Irish prison officers should necessarily be equal in every respect to those of English prison officers. The rates of pay of the officers referred to in the Question are, however, at present under review.