§ Mr. LONSDALEasked the Chief Secretary whether he will state how many Normandy sires have been acquired by the Irish Department of Agriculture; how much did these animals cost; who was responsible for their purchase; and what is to be done with them?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI understand that four of these horses have been acquired by the Department at a cost of £853 3s. 6d. The Department are responsible for their purchase. The horses are to be retained for experimental purposes on the Department's own farms.
§ Mr. LONSDALEWhat expert advice was taken before the horses were purchased?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI am not in a position to name the expert, but the utmost care was taken in their selection, and, as a matter of fact, they are horses with a large proportion of thoroughbred blood. Of the 4 horses bought, in one case out of 111 known ancestors 66 were thoroughbred; in a second case, out of 86 ancestors 47 were thoroughbred; and in the other two cases there were respectively 52 thoroughbred out of 85 and 45 out of 103. The greater care was taken in their selection.
§ Mr. LONSDALEWill the right hon. Gentleman say whether the Advisory Committee on Horse Breeding was consulted before they were purchased?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI will inquire into that.
Captain CRAIGIs it not a fact that during the election the Vice-President of the Department gave a definite pledge that these horses would not be brought into the country; and will the right hon. Gentleman say why that has been departed from?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe horses are to be retained on the Department's own farms for experimental purposes.
§ Mr. MEYSEY-THOMPSONWould it not have been much better to secure Yorkshire coach horses?