§ MR. DUFFY (Galway, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the present yearly assessment in the Loughrea Union for the upkeep and management of the Galway Hospital is £239 11s.; whether the Loughrea Board, in common with the other boards of guardians within the county, waived their opposition to the passage of the Galway Hospital Act on the assurance that the charge, if any, on the rates would be merely nominal; whether any representations have reached the Government, from the boards of guardians within the county, in reference to the matter; and do the Government propose to take any steps to have the Act of 1892 repealed.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The assessment on Loughrea Union for the current year is as stated in the Question. The Local Government Board cannot trace any resolution of the boards of guardians in the county in the terms indicated in the second part of the Question. The Board have received various representations from the boards of guardians in the county upon the question of repealing the Act, but these boards are not unanimous on the point. The reply to 514 the concluding part of the Question is in the negative.