§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will ascertain and state if the Town Commissioners of Mullingar borrow this year £5,000 for the purposes of the Housing of the Working Classes (Ireland) Act, 1908, in what time and by what annual sum for interest and sinking fund will repayment be required; will that sum continue fixed or be liable to fluctuation; and to what amount of help will that town, in the circumstances, be entitled under section 5 of the Act?
The HON. MEMBERfurther asked if the Chief Secretary will ascertain and state the lowest annual rate of repayment for interest and sinking fund at which a loan of £5,000 would now be made to the Mullingar Town Commissioners for 80 years, for the purposes of the Housing of the Working Classes (Ireland) Act, 1908; and to what sum per annum would these Com- 1024 missioners be entitled out of the Irish Housing Fund in relief of that annual payment?
§ Mr. CHERRYI will, with the permission of the Hon. Member, answer this question and No. 65 together. The Local Government Board will not be in a position to say what time would be allowed for repayment of a loan until plans of the contemplated works are submitted to them, as the number of years over which repayment of the principal of the loan may be spread will vary according to the class of buildings to be erected. If the loan which may be shown to be required is obtained from the Commissioners of Public Works, repayment must be made by equal half-yearly instalments of principal, that is to say, 12s. 6d. per £100 in every six months if the loan is for 80 years, and interest must, in addition, be paid on the balances outstanding from time to time at the minimum rate for the time being allowed for loans out of the Local Loan Funds, which is at present 3½ per cent. per annum. The proportion of the Housing Fund to which the Town Commissioners may become entitled from year to year, under section 5 of the Housing Act of 1908, will depend on the etxent to which all local authorities in Ireland avail themselves of the Housing Acts; and this proportion can only be ascertained at the close of each financial year.