§ 6. Captain SHEEHANasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that there are coalfields in the north of Cork county at Dromagh which were at one time extensively worked and gave very considerable employment in the locality; whether these coalfields are quite adjacent to the Great Southern and Western Railway Company; and whether their resources and capabilities of working have been, or will be, investigated by the Government, with a view to relieving tonnage pressure and providing home supplies of a coal which has been proved to be useful for fuel and steam purposes?
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for IRELAND (Mr. Arthur Samuels)Various unsuccessful attempts have been made in the past to work the anthracite coal seams in the neighbourhood of Dromagh, west of Banteer Station on the Great Southern and Western Railway. The last serious attempt was made in 1901 by the New Dromagh Mining Company, and they were unsuccessful in their efforts to find coal of commercial value. The anthracite coal found in the district generally contains sulphur and is, therefore, of poor quality; 1527 but one seam is said to be free from sulphur. According to the Memoirs (Nos. 174 and 175) of the Geological Survey of Ireland the thickness of the seams varies considerably, but, from a mining point of view, they may be regarded as "thin." The coal measures are also twisted and contorted, and dip at a high angle, and there does not appear to be much prospect of finding payable coal in this district even in view of the high prices at present prevailing.