§ MR. J. DEVLIN (Belfast, W.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state if any, and how many, of the Irish urban authorities have availed themselves of the right to take special precautions with regard to the regulation of the milk supply; and whether any reports on the subject are forthcoming.
§ MR. BIRRELLForty-five out of the ninety-five urban authorities in Ireland have adopted local regulations for the control of the milk supply under the existing Orders. These Orders will be superseded from 1st May next by the recent Dairies and Milkshops (Ireland) Order, 1908, which embodies the previous model regulations on the subject and will apply uniformly to all districts in Ireland. The milk supply, together with the other matters affecting the public health, is dealt with in the periodical reports of the Local Government Board's medical inspectors. The substance of these reports is communicated to the sanitary authorities concerned, and such reports as possess more than local interest are published with the Annual Report of the Local Government Board.
§ MR. MOOREAs this question of milk supply is intimately bound up with the question of the condemnation of tuberculous cattle, will the right hon. Gentleman remove the difficulty with regard to the working of that branch of inquiry by providing that half the compensation for slaughtered animals shall be provided from Government sources?
§ MR. BIRRELLI am prepared to consider that proposal.