§ Mr. GINNELLasked why the words "temporarily deducted" are applied to the deductions from the annual grants due to county councils and other local bodies in Ireland in respect of alleged defaults and losses connected with land purchase, seeing that the deductions are never refunded to those bodies and are a permanent loss to the ratepayers; whether the running accounts kept in this matter are accessible for examination by the bodies bearing the losses; and since, after adjustment, an actual deduction is made each year, how arises the alleged difficulty of stating the sum of all the deductions made since 1903 in each case and for the whole of Ireland?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe deductions referred to, so far as they relate to arrears of land purchase annuities, are refunded to county councils when the arrears are paid. If the hon. Member will refer to the Table which was given in answer to his question of 9th instant he will see that, in the case of eight counties, the amounts so refunded in respect of arrears in the current year were actually in excess of the current deductions, the result being that in these cases there were net additions to the current grants to the counties. The accounts connected with land purchase are not accessible to the public. I would remind the 1475W hon. Member that, as land purchase progresses, and the amount of annuities payable by tenant-purchasers increases, so generally will the amount of temporary arrears increase. Consequently, although the counties are credited with the amount of arrears previously deducted according as they are recovered, there will still generally remain on balance a certain sum to be deducted. As regards the final paragraph of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to his further question on this subject on to-day's Paper.
§ Mr. GINNELLalso asked the amount of all deductions made and withheld since 1903 from the annual grants due to each county council and other local bodies in Ireland, and the total account of losses and defaults connected with land purchase?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe annual report of the Local Government Board for each year since 1906–7 contains a table giving details of the deductions from or additions to the Estate or Death Duty Grant payable to the several unions and road authorities in Ireland in the year under review. The preparation of the figures for the previous years would involve an expenditure of time and labour which would be entirely out of proportion to their usefulness.