§ MR. O'SHAUGHNESSY (Limerick, W.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he can say whether in future appointments of inspectors in connection with the administration of the Labourers (Ireland) Acts will be open to competition, and notice given in the Press of any such appointments to be made.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) It is not intended to appoint inspectors for the purposes of the Labourers Acts by open competition. In making any further 600 appointments which may be required, the Local Government Board will, as they have done in previous cases, satisfy themselves that the persons to be appointed possess the special knowledge and experience necessary to the proper fulfilment of the duties.
§ MR. O'SHAUGHNESSYTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he can say who were the temporary inspectors appointed recently in connection with the administration of the Labourers (Ireland) Acts; what were their qualifications, and whether they had to pass any examination for the position; and, if so, was it competitive; and whether any notice was given in the Press or elsewhere that these appointments were to be made; and if he will say how many candidates were seeking the position.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The temporary inspectors recently appointed were: Mr. J. P. Hannigan, an inspector under the Estates Commissioners; Mr. Max Green, an architect already in the Civil Service; and Mr. F. J. McCarthy, an official of the Local Government Board with long experience of the Labourers Acts. No examination is required in cases of this kind. No official notice that the appointments were to be made was published in the Press, but the fact that an additional staff would be appointed was stated in Parliament during the passage of the Labourers Bill, and widely circulated in the Press. The Local Government Board cannot say how many persons were seeking these particular appointments. A very large number of the applications received by the Board are simply for employment under the Board, no particular post being specified.