HC Deb 01 May 1907 vol 173 cc853-4
MR. THOMAS O'DONNELL (Kerry, W.)

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will state the salaries paid to medical doctors in each of the six unions in Kerry in 1897, the amount credited to each union in the Agricultural Grant in respect of those salaries, the salaries paid in each union in the year 1906, the amount contributed from the Local Taxation Account towards those salaries, the total amount contributed in each union from the Agricultural Grant and the Local Taxation Account towards medical doctors' salaries in each union, and the balance in each union which has to be borne by the rates.

(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The salaries paid to medical officers in the unions of the county Kerry for the years ended March, 1897, and March, 1906, are as follows—

Year 1897 Year 1906.
£ £
Caherciveen 440 514
Dingle 540 552
Kenmare 440 440
Killarney 703 730
Listowel 600 722
Tralee 755 785

One-half of the amounts in the first column was recouped from the Parliamentary Grant. Of the sums of £730 and £785 given in the second column, one-half was in each case recouped from the Local Taxation Account, and in the remaining cases the amount recouped was a little less than one-half, owing to the limitation imposed by Section 6 (1) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1902. In the year ended March, 1906, the following additional payments were made for remuneration of substitutes for medical officers who were absent on vacation, and recoupment of one-half of these amounts was allowed under Section 5 (1) of the Act of 1902—

£ s. d.
Caherciveen 42 0 0
Dingle 8 8 0
Kenmare 50 8 0
Killarney 29 0 0
Listowel 134 8 0
Tralee 100 16 0

The balance remaining in all the cases referred to above was defrayed out of the rates. It may be added that no portion of the Agricultural Grant is directly payable to relieve any specific union charge, but is applied in aid of the rates on agricultural land generally.