§ Mr. KETTLETo ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state the amount of Ireland's contribution to tax revenue, for each year from 1897 to 1907; what proportion did the contribution of Ireland bear to that of Great Britain; and, if the contribution of Ireland had been based on the unanimous finding of the Financial Relations Commission, 1894-6 (i.e., limited to one:-twentieth of the tax revenue raised in Great Britain), what would have been the amounts for the years in question.
§ (Answered by Mr. Runciman.)—
| Year. | Tax Revenue contributed by Ireland. | Proportion of Ireland's Tax Revenue to that of Great Britain. | One-twentieth of Tax Revenue contributed by Great Britain. |
| £ | Per cent. | £ | |
| 1897–8 | 7,144,000 | 7.9 | 4,517,900 |
| 1898–9 | 7,197,000 | 7.8 | 4,617,900 |
| 1899–1900 | 7,619,000 | 7.6 | 5,016,950 |
| 1900–1 | 8,453,000 | 7.6 | 5,530,150 |
| 1901–2 | 8,712,000 | 7.2 | 6,074,350 |
| 1902–3 | 9,097,000 | 7.1 | 6,381,550 |
| 1903–4 | 8,622,000 | 7.3 | 5,875,350 |
| 1904–5 | 8,601,000 | 7.2 | 5,979,950 |
| 1905–6 | 8,254,000 | 7.0 | 5,925,850 |
| 1906–7 | 8,274,000 | 6.9 | 5,987,050 |
§ It should be pointed out, however, that if Ireland's tax revenue had been reduced to the amounts shown in the last column the total revenue derived from Ireland would in most years have been insufficient to cover the cost of Irish services. The result would have been, therefore, that on the whole period Ireland would have contributed nothing to Imperial expenditure, to the service of the National Debt, or of the Army and Navy, while the taxpayers of Great Britain would have had to contribute about £5,000,000 to Irish local expenditure.