§ MR. FETHERSTONHAUGHTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland which of the eight Departments whose powers it is proposed to transfer to the Irish Council, with the exception of the inspector of reformatory schools, is a Department of, or has its offices in, or adjacent to, Dublin Castle; are the Boards or Departments carrying on administrative business in Ireland more or less numerous than the similar Boards or Departments in England; and how many of them are common to both countries.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) There is no proposal to transfer any powers of the eight Departments and authorities named in Clause 2 (2) (a) of the Bill. I am not aware that the local habitation of these 1088 Departments is a matter of moment; they are all under the control of the Lord-Lieutenant or the Chief Secretary. I have not found it necessary, for the purposes of the Bill, to inquire how many Boards or Departments there may be in England, nor does the question appear to have any important bearing on the matter.