§ 17 and 18. Mr. KELLYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland (1) if he is now in a position to announce the intentions of the Government with regard to the lines worked by the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company; and (2) if the-electric signalling apparatus on the Burtonport Railway and on other lines worked by the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Company has broken down; if so, what steps are being taken to safeguard persons using these lines; and how long has this state of things been in existence?
§ 26. Mr. HUGH LAWasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that a dearth of provisions exists in certain parts of West Donegal; that this dearth is in part due to the long-continued failure of the Letterkenny and Burtonport Railway to deal satisfactorily with the conveyance of essential foodstuffs; and what it is proposed to take to place the working of this railway upon a sound footing?
§ Mr. DUKEThe maintenance and working of the Burtonport Railway have been the subject for a long time of very 1833 grave complaints tending to show that the railway was not fulfilling the purposes for which public funds had been expended in its construction to the extent of upwards of £300,000. In such circumstances, Section 7 of the Railways (Ireland) Act, 1896, provides means of inquiry as to whether the railway is efficiently worked, maintained and developed, with consequent powers in certain cases for taking control of the undertaking. The Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, acting under the powers conferred on them by the Statute, have appointed Mr. Joseph Tatlow to inspect and report upon the condition of the railway and the working, maintenance and development of the same. The various matters referred to in the questions will no doubt come within his cognisance.
§ Mr. KELLYCan the right hon. Gentleman state if any immediate steps are being taken pending the receipt of the Report referred to?
§ Mr. DUKEOh, yes, Sir; very active steps are being taken. The plant of the concern is being put into working order, and, with regard to what I might almost describe as the innumerable complaints which have come from the district which hon. Members have brought to my notice, steps have been taken by the Railway Executive Committee, and in other directions, to do what is immediately necessary. This inquiry is with a view to preventing the same kind of conditions which have arisen.
§ Mr. KELLYCan the right hon. Gentleman indicate if any steps are being taken to repair the locomotives?
§ Mr. H. LAWI listened very carefully to the reply, but I did not hear the right hon. Gentleman refer at all to the statement made in the first part of my question.
§ Mr. DUKEIt was included in the last clause of my answer, that this matter of the provision of fodder has been engaging the attention of the Department in Dublin, and it has been dealt with, at any rate for the time, in a practical sense.