§ MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN (Kilkenny)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has received resolutions from various public bodies in Ireland, representative of all classes and creeds, urging speedy legislation for reform of the Irish Poor Laws on the lines indicated by the Vice-Regal Commission; and whether, seeing that legislation on this matter would be practically non-contentious, he will see his way to give instructions for the preparation of a Bill calculated to carry out the recommendations of the Vice-Regal Commission Report.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which I made on 3rd April in the debate on the Second Reading of the Poor Law (Ireland) Bill. The importance of dealing with the question of Poor Law reform in Ireland is fully recognised by the Government, and it is intended to introduce a Bill on the subject with as little delay as possible. It is, however, out of the question to introduce such a measure during the current session, but I hope it will be one of the first to be introduced next year.