§ MR. J. DEVLINTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the amount 1223 of the surplus duty tax on intoxicating drinks that has been available for Irish Intermediate education in each year since the amount of the Irish Intermediate grant was made dependent on the amount of intoxicating drink consumed in Ireland; and will he consider the advisability of making this grant dependent in future on some source other than the present one.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The amounts which have been paid to the Intermediate Education Board, under Section 3 (ii.) of the Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act, 1890, are as follows:—
The hon. Member appears to assume that the amount payable to the Intermediate Education Board under this head is dependent solely upon the quantity of intoxicating drink consumed in Ireland. The amount of the Irish portion of the Customs and Excise duties grant is fixed by Statute at nine-hundredths of the total grant for the United Kingdom, and this total grant depends upon the duties paid in the United Kingdom generally. The residue of the Irish portion of the grant, after the payment of £78,000 annually to the Department of Agriculture, is payable to the Intermediate Education Board. To alter the allocation of the grant or to provide funds for Intermediate education from another source would equally require legislation, and it is by no means sure that any change which could be made 1224 would be advantageous to the funds of the Board.
£ s. d. 1891 39,042 6 11 1892 47,526 13 3 1893 44,164 4 11 1894 44,261 9 5 1895 40,718 15 10 1896 47,232 15 7 1897 50,841 14 0 1898 54,174 19 8 1899 57,975 7 8 1900 71,400 2 5 1901 64,730 16 2 1902 56,583 14 10 1903 59,430 14 0 1904 56,156 3 4 1905 50,385 6 10 1906 48,255 19 6 1907 49,916 17 3 1908 49,504 7 1