§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will furnish the House with a statement showing the rate in the pound and the amount of the county cess and poor rate, either separately or together, including all statutory local charges, and also all deductions from local taxation grants in connection with land purchase, in each county and borough in Ireland in the standard financial year 1896–7 and in the financial year 1908–9, showing the net increase or decrease of amount and of rateage and how the balance of burden is affected as between landlord and tenant?
§ Mr. BIRRELLIt would not be possible to give the exact particulars asked for, nor, having regard to the changes introduced by the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, would the figures which could be procured for 1896–7 and 1908–9 be properly comparable. I would, however, refer the hon. Member to the Local Taxation Returns for 1897 for the amount of county cess lodged with the treasurers of counties and counties of cities and towns in that year, and to Appendix D to the annual Report of the Local Government Board for the amount of poor rate lodged with treasurers of unions. Both these Papers have been presented to Parliament. Particulars of the poor rate struck in rural districts for the year 1907–8, and in urban districts for the year 1908–9, will be found in the Local Taxation Returns for 1907–8, which have also been presented to Parliament. The net deductions made from sums payable out of the local taxation account in respect of land purchase liability in the financial year ended in 1897 amounted to £2,133. The shares of boards of guardians in the estate duty grant from which the deductions were made were then paid direct to the guardians, and it would be most difficult to ascertain the actual amount withheld from each county and borough, as a great number of unions were included in more than one county. For the deductions from grants payable in each county during the past financial year I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a question asked by the hon. Member for Waterford on the 25th February last. There are no means of ascertaining the relative burdens of landlords and tenants in 1896–7. At present the poor rate is paid by the occupier in practically every case.