§ MR. FIELD: (Dublin, St. Patrick)To ask the Secretary of State for War if he will consider the necessity for revising the wages of all the civil employees of the Army Ordnance Department at Dublin and the Curragh, in view of the recent Report of the Board of Trade on the cost of living of the working classes, which shows the cost of living in London as compared with Dublin as 100 and 94 respectively.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) As regards Dublin the wages of the unskilled labourers in the Army Ordnance Department were revised as recently as April last, and there is no reason for believing that in the case of these, or any other Army Ordnance Department employees in Dublin, the rates do not compare favourably with the general rates in the district. The rates of the Army Ordnance Department labourers at the Curragh are somewhat lower, but would appear to be adequate.