§ 48. Viscount EDNAMasked the Prime Minister the total amount of unpaid claims due to private individuals in the South of Ireland for damage done by Sinn Feiners, for which Decrees have been granted by county court judges; what steps are being taken by the Government towards their payment; and whether, in view of the fact that interest at 5 per cent. has been granted on these claims, some of which have been owing for over a year, the Government will take steps, in the interests of economy, to pay these off at once?
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood)The total amount of the compensation awarded to private individuals in Southern Ireland in respect of injuries to person or property is £7,667,368, for the period from the 1st June, 1919, to the 31st December, 1921. It is not at present possible to distinguish the Decrees made in respect of injuries committed by Sinn Feiners from those made in respect of injuries dominated by other persons. As the House has already been informed, it is hoped to make a full statement on this subject in connection with the Bill of Indemnity.