HC Deb 27 August 1914 vol 66 cc127-8
5. Mr. DEVLIN

asked the Chief Secretary whether it is proposed to allocate any sum for relief works in Ireland during the present crisis; and, if so, whether he will undertake that a reasonable proportion of such sum be set aside for the relief of women Workers whose employment has been adversely affected by the crisis?

Mr. BIRRELL

If it is found necessary to make any special Government Grant for the relief of distress occasioned by the war the claims of Ireland, including the ease of Irish women workers, will be fully considered. As regards the Prince of Wales' National Relief Fund and other sources from which funds are now available for the relief of distress, I am forwarding the hon. Member a copy of a circular addressed to lord mayors, mayors, and chairmen of county and urban district councils in Ireland which will give him detailed information as to measures taken to meet distress wherever it may occur.

8. Mr. SHEEHAN

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether, as a means of relieving any distress which may arise in rural districts in Ireland as a consequence of the War, it is the intention of the Government to make substantial Grants through his Department for reproductive purposes, such as re-afforestation and the reclamation and drainage of waste areas; whether his Department has considered at any time a scheme for the national re-afforestation of Ireland; and whether he would consider the present a suitable time for inaugurating a plan of afforestation on an extensive scale?

Mr. T. W. RUSSELL (Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture, Ireland)

No arrangements have up to the present been made for Grants in aid of the special work referred to in the question. The Department is now engaged on a large afforestation scheme in different parts of Ireland; but, a part from the difficulty of securing the necessary land, it does not appear to be a relief measure suitable for any such emergency as the question refers to. In regard to the drainage works, I must refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend the Secretary of the Treasury, who is responsible for the Board of Works, the Department in charge of all such work in Ireland.