§ Mr. DEVLINasked the Chief Secretary whether he can state what decision, if any, has been come to by the Local Government Board with reference to the erection of labourers' cottages in the Ballymoney union; whether the amount asked for by the Ballymoney Rural District Council was £188 for each cottage, with a half-acre allotment, this estimate including £22 10s. per cottage for incidental expenses; what were the terms of the specification for these cottages; and whether there is any reason why such cottages, with one-acre plots, could be provided in Limerick county at £150 each, while the cost in Ballymoney, with half-acre plots, is £188 each?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Local Government Board have sanctioned loans at the rate of £170 per cottage for the 131 cottages with half-acre allotments authorised by the Order of 1908. The figures given in the second part of the question are correct. The specification is on the lines of a general specification issued by the Board for the guidance of local authorities and their officers. It provides for the use of materials of the best kind available in the district. The Board are not aware that any exceptional reason exists in the case of Ballymoney why a suitable cottage and half-acre allotment should not be provided for £170, or £18 less than the council asked for. The returns furnished to the Board do not show that cottages with acre allotments are being provided in county Limerick at £150 each.