§ 24. Captain SHEEHANasked the Chief Secretary if he will state the exact nature of the powers possessed by rural district councils in Ireland for providing allotments for labourers separately or without cottages; what sections of the Labourers or Land Acts confer this power on them: whether, and to what extent, allotments have been so provided for the purpose of enabling labourers to increase their home-grown supplies during the years 1916 and 1917 and the present; and whether the Local Government Board will issue a circular letter to the various district councils in Ireland setting forth their powers in this respect, and urging them to use them so that the opportunity may be brought within the reach of every worker of providing sufficient home-grown food for his family needs?
§ Mr. DUKEThe powers of rural district councils to acquire land for allotments are contained in Section 16 of the Labourers Act of 1885 and Section 12 of the- Act of 1886. A circular was issued on 22nd January, 1917, calling attention, to these provisions, and in twenty-one rural districts action was taken.