§ Mr. BRADYasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he was prepared to assimilate the practice in Ireland to that in England whereby in bankruptcy matters Crown debts had not priority to ordinary debts save in the case of Property and Income Tax assessed up to 5th April preceding the petition?
§ Mr. LLOYD-GEORGEThe difference in practice to which the hon. Member refers arises from a difference between the English and Irish Bankruptcy Acts. Under the English Act all debts provable under a bankruptcy, with certain specific exceptions, are to be paidpari passu, a provision which includes Crown debts, and extinguishes the prerogative right of the Crown in respect of all debts not specifically excepted in it; whereas the Irish Act contains no similar provision, and the Crown's right to priority is therefore not extin- 220 guished by the bankruptcy. Legislation would be required to assimilate the practice in England and Ireland.