§ MR. CHARLES CRAIGI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether in view of the feeling which exists in Ireland that many of the inmates of 107 lunatic asylums in Ireland are, either out of their own property or that of near relatives, able to pay the whole or part of their maintenance and are not in fact pauper lunatics in the ordinary sense of the word, he will grant the Return relating to Lunatic Asylums (Ireland) standing on to-day's Paper in the name of the hon. Member for South Antrim.
§ [The Return was as follows:—Lunatic Asylums (Ireland), Return showing, with reference to the inmates of Lunatic Asylums in Ireland which are supported out of public funds,(1) the names and age of each inmate; (2) the date of his or her admission;(3) his or her occupation or station in life at the time of admission;(4) what property the inmate or his or her relatives contribute to his or her support;(5) whether the inmate is a proper subject for a pauper asylum;(6) what steps have been taken in each case to ascertain what property the inmate is possessed of; and (7) what steps have been taken in each case to recoup the asylum for the support of the inmate.]
§ MR. BIRRELLIt would be quite impracticable to give the Return asked for. There are some 20,000 pauper lunatics in public asylums in Ireland, and with the exception of the capitation grant of 4s. from the local taxation account, the cost of maintenance falls on the local authorities. The duty of obtaining payment for maintenance, where possible, from the property of the lunatic or his relatives devolves upon the lunatic asylum committees, and I am informed that as a rile these committees are energetic in enforcing payment when they can legally do so. The inspectors of lunatic asylums are not aware of any general feeling that many of the inmates of lunatic asylums are able to pay for their maintenance, or have relatives who can do so. In any event it would not be practicable to set out in the form of a Return the steps taken by the committees in 20,000 separate cases to ascertain what property the lunatic may have.