§ MR. J. DEVLINTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the number of male and female children boarded out by the Belfast Board of Guardians, and the average cost per head in each case; how many children under fifteen and over thirteen years of age are employed, with the approval of the guardians, as half-timers or otherwise in the mills and factories in Belfast; what is the amount of their earnings; what is the amount necessary for their maintenance; and whether any action is contemplated to give effect to the recommendations of the Local Government Board in regard to children put out by the guardians as half-timers.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Local Government Board have applied to the clerk of the Belfast Union for the required information, and as soon as it has been received I will communicate it to the hon. Member.