§ MR. THOMAS F. SMYTH (Leitrim, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if the loan which is being given to boards of guardians in Ireland this year to procure seed, oats, and potatoes, in consequence of the failure of those crops last year, will be given free of interest, the same as has been done on former occasions, with a view to lessening the cost of the seed on the people getting it.
§ MR. CHERRYThe Answer to this Question is in the negative. Prior to the year 1905 the interest on seed loans was paid out of the Church Temporalities Fund, which fund now forms part of the endowment of the Department of Agriculture. Interest was charged on the loans made in 1905, but the Department gave a grant towards the cost of the seed which more than covered the interest charged on the loans.