§ MR. JOHN O'DONNELLTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether County Inspector Rogers, Royal Irish Constabulary, who acted violently against many people at Watergrasshill, county Cork, is listed for promotion; whether he is aware that this inspector has family connections at Dublin Castle; and whether in future he will see that, in order to put an end to the dissatisfaction which exists amongst Catholic officers in that force, all vacancies will be filled by public competitive examination under the control of the Civil Service Commissioners.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) If a vacancy should occur in one of the higher posts of the Royal Irish Constabulary, the claims and qualifications of County Inspector Rogers, as well as those of other county inspectors, will be fully considered. The Inspector-General informs me that there are no grounds for the statement that Mr. Rogers acted violently at Watergrasshill, and he is not aware that this officer has any family connections at Dublin Castle. Promotion to the rank of assistant inspector-general by means of Civil Service examinations would be quite impracticable.