§ Mr. SHEEHANasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether, in view of the dissatisfaction among Irish creameries in regard to the manner in which creamery instructors are at present appointed, the Department will reconsider the question of making these appointments by competitive examination; is he aware that similar positions, such as dairy supervisorships in the Australasian Colonies, are filled in that way; and will he state what objections the Department have to making such appointments by competitive examination?
§ Mr. T. W. RUSSELLThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The Department have no information as to the method followed by the Australian Colonies in connection with this matter. As already stated in reply to the hon. Member's question of 13th May last, the Department do not propose to alter their present arrangements.
§ Mr. SHEEHANalso asked the Vice-President what is the present annual expenditure of his Department in connection with their schemes in relation to creameries; and what is the present annual expenditure through county committees in connection with home butter-making?
§ Mr. T. W. RUSSELLThe amounts allocated for the year 1908–9 are £5,500 and £3,424 respectively. The latter figure includes the contribution from the local 1561W rates. It is not possible at present to give the actual expenditure in respect of these allocations, as the agricultural year has not yet terminated.
§ Mr. SHEEHANasked the Vice-President whether he is aware that Mr. Wilkinson, creamery instructor in dairying under the Department, wrote a private letter on 3rd April to the Reverend President of the Drumshambo Creamery containing a statement that it cost 3s. per cwt. more to make unsalted than salted butter, and that the Department wrote to the Drumshambo Creamery on 17th May, stating that the cost of making salted and unsalted butter was practically the same; will he say what explanation Mr. Wilkinson has given the Drumshambo Creamery for the mis-statement he has made; and whether he will discontinue the system of private reports?
§ Mr. T. W. RUSSELLThe facts are substantially as stated in the first part of the question. I understand that the point at issue is one upon which experts are not wholly agreed, and that a series of experiments would be necessary to determine it at any particular creamery. Mr. Wilkinson furnished the president of the society on 17th July last with a supplementary report, which contained particulars of the data on which he based his previous statement, and recommended that experiments to test the matter should be carried out by the creamery in question. Since that no further communication has been received from the society on the matter. I see no reason to make any change of the kind suggested in the concluding part of the question.