§ MR. LONSDALEI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that opposition has been shown in the rural parts of Ireland to the general Order of the Local Government Board for Ireland (No. 24 M/1908) with respect to dairies, cowsheds and milkshops; that this feeling is largely due to the discrimination made between farmers and cowkeepers who sell milk to creameries for manufacture into butter and those who make their own milk into butter; and whether it is intended to recall this order and apply the regulations equally to all classes of dairy farmers in Ireland.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Order in question applies equally to all persons engaged in the public supply of milk. Its object is to prevent the spread of disease by means of the milk supply, and therefore it deals only with persons engaged in such supply, as contemplated by the Act under which the Order was made. I am aware that some opposition to the Order has been shown, but its provisions are very necessary in the interests of the public health, and it is not intended to withdraw it.