§ 30. Mr. DUFFYasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he has received a copy of a resolution passed at a meeting in Loughrea on the 27th March, protesting against the prohibition of the Loughrea Fair on that day, and calling attention to the losses inflicted on every interest in the county through the promulgation of this Order; whether he is aware that, in consequence of the smallness of the size of the farmers' holdings, and the consequent scarcity of hay and fodder, it is indispensable that they should now sell their stock, which consists entirely of store cattle; whether he realises that the small farmers will not be able to plant their crops this spring unless facilities are afforded them to dispose of their stock, as the custom of the county is to pay off in April the debt for manures incurred in the previous year before a supply for this season is given; has he received a representation from the people of Athenry in reference to the removal of the restrictions on their fair to be held on Friday, 3rd April; and what facilities does he intend giving to enable this fair to be held?
§ Mr. RUSSELL (Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture, Ireland)The Department did not prohibit the Loughrea Fair, but the recent Order prohibiting the movement of animals out of the part of Ireland south of a defined line running from Drogheda to Oranmore, had the effect incidentally of preventing cattle being railed from this fair, the railway forming the boundary line and being outside the scheduled area. As the hon. Member is no doubt aware the object of such Order is to allow of stock being shipped for immediate slaughter from parts of Ireland north of the defined line. It is regretted that the Order while considered necessary in the general interest 1332 should involve any hardship to farmers in the Loughrea neighborhood. It should, however, be realised that there is no bar to fairs being held in this locality. Movement from south of the boundary line to a fair north of the line is, however, prohibited as well as the movement on the railway line forming the boundary, of any stock from south of the line, but it is still open to owners south of the line to rail their stock southwards, say from Craughwell. A fair is to be held at Athenry on the 3rd instant for stock from north of the boundary line.
§ Mr. KILBRIDEMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it is likely that any change will be made in connection with this boundary line so that the four important towns of Mullingar, Athlone, Ballinasloe, and Athenry will be to the northern side of the boundary?
§ Mr. RUSSELLI do not wish to go into details about the matter. I have received to-day a deputation of Irish Members interested in the question, and the whole matter is now being considered in Dublin with the view to a proposal being submitted to the President of the Board of Agriculture.
§ Mr. DUFFYIn connection with this matter, which is of supreme and vital importance to a large number of people in the West of Ireland, I wish to give notice that I will call attention to it on the Motion for the Adjournment of the House to-night.
§ 31. Mr. DUFFYasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) if he is aware that orders were given by the officers of the Agricultural Department, Dublin, to the Loughrea and Athymore Railway at Loughrea not to carry any stock purchased at the Loughrea Fair on the 27th March over their line; can he state under what authority the stationmaster at Loughrea was wired to not to rail any more store cattle purchased at the fair; and will he explain why timely notice as to the prohibition of the fair was not given to the chairman of the town commissioners so that steps might be taken to advise the public, and thus save trouble, loss, and inconvenience to buyers and sellers?
§ Mr. RUSSELLAn effect of the Department's Order prohibiting the movement of animals out of the southern part of Ireland 1333 is to make it illegal for a railway company to convey live-stock from the southern area on the line which forms part of the boundary of that area. The railway companies concerned were advised in the usual course of this effect of the Order, and the Midland Great Western Railway took steps accordingly to decline live-stock traffic from Loughrea Fair, which was held on the day the Department's Order came into force. It was not possible, without discounting the value of the Order, to give advance notice of its effect.
§ 33. Mr. PATRICK MEEHANasked why the restrictions in connection with foot-and-mouth disease should be extended to Queen's County, as no cases of the disease have occurred therein; and why the port of Birkenhead is not to be opened for cattle for immediate slaughter from unaffected counties?
§ Mr. RUSSELLThe outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the Templemore neighbourhood in the north of county Tipperary have necessitated the scheduling of a district of approximately fifteen miles' radius extending beyond the boundaries of that county and embracing in Queen's County of Roscrea (No. 3) Rural District and a number of electoral divisions in the Abbeyleix rural district. Similarly in scheduling a district in connection with the recent outbreak in county Kildare it has been found necessary to take in a part of the extreme east of Queen's County. It is gratifying that the disease has not up to the present spread to Queen's County, but in defining the area from which shipments to Birkenhead and the other two selected British ports might begin, it has been necessary to adopt a boundary well removed from the vicinity of the scheduled districts. In these circumstances it has not been possible to include Queen's County within the region from which stock may be shipped.
§ Mr. MEEHANCan the right hon. Gentleman not remove the restrictions on cattle not intended to be exported from the unaffected areas in Queen's County to districts north of the line?
§ Mr. RUSSELLNo. It is not possible to remove cattle from the south of the boundary to the north.
§ 34. Mr. DELANYasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he has received copies of resolutions passed at a public 1334 meeting held in Ballacolla, Queen's County, on the 29th March, requesting the Department to relax the restrictions imposed on the district on the grounds that it is twenty-three miles distant from the nearest point where a case of foot-and-mouth disease has broken out, and pointing out the loss and inconvenience caused to owners of stock, especially milch cows and pigs; and can he say when the restrictions will be removed?
§ Mr. RUSSELLOnly portions of the south-west and extreme east of Queen's County are now subject to restrictions. Ballacolla has been retained in the scheduled district on account of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the neighbourhood of Templemore, which in a direct line is only a little over fifteen miles away. If no further outbreaks occur in the locality the Department would hope to be in a position to effect a considerable reduction in the area of restrictions in a short time, but it is not possible to say definitely when such a reduction will be practicable.
§ Mr. C. BATHURSTDoes the right hon. Gentleman realise that, according to expert opinion, a radius exceeding fifteen miles is never necessary?
§ Mr. RUSSELLThat is the radius that we have adopted.
§ The following question stood on the Notice Paper:—
§ 41. Mr. GINNELLto ask the Attorney-General if he will state what action the Director of Public Prosecutions has taken with reference to the introduction of infectious cattle disease at. Birkenhead, and with reference to the sending of men in close contact therewith to Ireland to spread the disease there, to the loss and inconvenience of the public; and, if no action has been taken, will he say why and whether any will be taken?
§ Mr. GINNELLI beg to ask you, Mr. Speaker, whether the Attorney-General is entitled to refuse to answer questions relating to the administration of the criminal law? He refuses to answer question No. 41, and refers me to a civil Minister. On principle I decline to put the question to a civil Minister.
§ Mr. SPEAKERI hope that all Ministers are civil. I suppose that the Attorney-General thinks that this is a matter which does not concern his Department.
§ Mr. GINNELLIt is the administration of the criminal law.
§ Mr. SPEAKERI think that it would be better to get the answer, and then we shall be in a better position to judge.
§ Mr. GINNELLI beg to postpone the question until Monday next to the Attorney-General.
§ Mr. GINNELLI beg to ask the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) a question, of which I have given private notice, namely: Whether he is aware that the restrictions imposed by the Department on the important cattle fair of Mullingar, due to be held next Monday, which restrictions he has described as being satisfactory to the local people, are denounced in telegrams from those people as wholly unsatisfactory and unjust, there being no disease in Westmeath or near it; and whether he will state what the restrictions are, and what reason there is for them in the absence of disease?
§ Mr. RUSSELLWhat I stated in reply to a question the other day was that the deputation which waited on the Department to arrange this matter were quite satisfied with the arrangements made, and recognised that they were the best that could possibly he made in the present circumstances.
§ Mr. GINNELLWill not the right hon. Gentleman explain what the restrictions are with which the people are quite dissatisfied?
§ Mr. RUSSELLThey chiefly amount to this, that there must be two fairs instead of one—one on Monday next, I believe, on the northern side of the boundary, and the other a week hence on the southern side.
§ Mr. GINNELLWill the right hon. Gentleman say what is the nearest centre of disease to Mullingar? Is it not 50 miles away?
§ Mr. RUSSELLI am not prepared to say off-hand.