95. Mr. F. HALL (Dulwich)asked, in the event of a Bill being introduced and passed, as suggested by him recently, to provide cottages for labourers in Ireland, if the expenditure entailed thereby after the passing of the Government of Ireland Bill will be met out of the Imperial or the Irish Exchequer; and, if the former, by whom would the distribution of the Grants be controlled so as to ensure the impartial application to the whole of Ireland of the benefits of any rural housing scheme?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Bill would be supplemental to the Labourers' Acts of 1906 and 1911, and would extend the limit on the amount of advances that may be made to rural district councils under those 43 Acts. The advances are made out of the Land Purchase Fund, the control of which is reserved under the Government of Ireland Bill. The Grants in aid of the repayment of the advances are made automatically by Statute, and the amounts are not regulated by any Public Department.