§ MR. WILLIAM REDMOND (Clare, E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland how many men and how many women have been committed to the Ennis State Inebriates Reformatory since its establishment; and if he can estimate how many of these have been considered cured of drunkenness on discharge; and whether he will direct the special attention of the judicial authorities in Ireland to the advisability of sending persons convicted of offences arising from drunkenness to this reformatory instead of to prison.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) Since the establishment of Ennis State Inebriate Reformatory in 1899, thirty-eight men and sixty-nine women have been committed, of whom twenty-nine men and fifty-two women have been discharged. Each case is watched and reported on periodically after discharge. Of the twenty-nine men discharged, sixteen are reported cured, three are dead, and ten have relapsed. Of the fifty-two women discharged, twenty-one are reported cured, five are dead, two are in lunatic asylums, and twenty-four have relapsed. The question of sending 649 persons to the Inebriate Reformatory is one entirely for the judicial authorities themselves. I will, however, bring the hon. Member's suggestion to the notice of the Lord Chancellor.