§ MR. DELANY (Queen's County, Ossory)To ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he will ask the Board of Works to explain the reason why all applications from Second Division clerks for the four increments on reaching £100 per annum have been ignored; and if the responsibility for this action rests with the Secretary, because the majority of the applicants are Roman Catholics.
§ MR. DELANYTo ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that no assistant clerks, new class, in the Board of Works, Dublin, have yet been promoted to the Second Division, although there are at least four of that class elegible for such promotion by length of service and by the importance of the work performed by them; and will he ask the Board of Works why, when applications for promotion were 832 made and recommended some time ago, no replies were received.
§ (Answered by Mr. Runciman). If the hon. Member will allow me I will reply to his Question for to-morrow at the same time. The grant of four increments to a Second Division clerk, and the promotion of an assistant clerk to the Second Division, are both under Order in Council confined to cases of exceptional merit. The Board of Works inform me that they have dealt personally with all applications, and have dealt with them on their merits, and without reference to, or knowledge of, the religion of the applicants. They are not aware of any case in which an application has been left without reply.