CAPTAIN CRAIGI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state the amount of the funds at the disposal of the Board of Agriculture for the coming year; and whether he will dispose of them in equal shares between each county in Ireland, or will he state how he intends to deal with their fair distribution.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe receipts from the Department's Endowment Fund in the current financial year are estimated to amount to £189,700.The money is applied for the purposes and in the proportions prescribed by Section 16 of the Act creating the Department. The funds available for county schemes for the improvement of agriculture are not allocated to the counties in equal shares, but are applied in accordance with the principle laid down in the Sub-section 6 of the Section quoted, regard being had to the nature and extent of the approved schemes in operation in each county.