§ Mr. LUNDONasked the Chief Secretary if he will see that the Local Government Board will send down an inspector at once to carry through the inquiry into the second half-acre scheme and also the new housing scheme at Kilmallock, county Limerick; and, having regard to the fact that the council has already gone to considerable expense in connection with the scheme for additional allotments, will the request of all classes in the rural district be acceded to, namely, to carry out inquiry at once, and thus enable the workers to have the allotments fenced in by spring-time?
§ Mr. BIRRELLKilmallock District Housing Scheme must wait its turn. Eighty-five schemes have been prepared under the new Act involving proposals for 8,750 additional cottages. These schemes will be put through by the Local Government Board in order of urgency—urgency being determined mainly by a consideration of the number of cottages already built and the total number of agricultural labourers in each district. As the average number of cottages for each rural district in Munster is 336, for Leinster 287, and Ulster 127, and as Kilmallock rural district has had no less than 1,090 sanctioned already, it certainly has no claim for its scheme to be taken out of its turn. If the 380 allotment scheme can be separated from the housing scheme, and an undertaking given that it will be financed by raising money for the purpose in the open market, the inquiry as to the allotment scheme can be held at once.
§ Mr. LUNDONIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the allotment scheme has been in the hands of the council for the last two years and that they have gone to considerable expense in the incidental work?
§ Mr. BIRRELLSo far as the allotment scheme is concerned—that is to say, giving the extra allotment of land for cottages already in existence—the Local Government Board will institute an inquiry at once. What they will not do is to proceed to sanction the erection of cottages in this district, which has so very amply and properly supplied itself with a much larger number of cottages than any other district in Ireland. My object is that these 8,750 new cottages should be built where at present there is a total lack of supply of this very necessary article.
§ Mr. O'SHEEAs this council is more generous than any other in Ireland in providing cottages for labourers, does not the right hon. Gentleman think he ought to facilitate them if they consider they ought to provide more cottages?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo, I cannot. Such allowance of money as I have been able to obtain—this extra £1,000,000—is required for the erection of cottages in those parts of Ireland where there is a lamentable deficiency of cottages.
§ Mr. O'SHEEMay I take it that the right hon. Gentleman will suggest to the Local Government Board to send an inspector without delay?
§ Mr. BIRRELLCertainly I will.