§ Mr. SHEEHANasked when it is proposed to proceed with the Second Reading of the Labourers (Ireland) Bill?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI hope to proceed with the Second Reading of the Bill at the earliest possible opportunity.
§ Mr. SHEEHANalso asked the Chief Secretary whether he can state how much of the million granted in 1911 for the purposes of the Labourers Acts was spent in providing additional half-acre allotments; 55W and whether any portion of the sum proposed by the present Bill will be available for this object?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo portion of the sum referred to was expended in providing additional allotments. The answer to the final paragraph is in the negative.
§ Mr. SHEEHANnext asked the Chief Secretary whether he will state how many cottages are included in the schemes promoted by district councils in Munster into which inquiries have not yet been ordered; whether, in the allocation of the million being provided by the present Labourers Bill, the schemes already received by the Local Government Board will receive priority over schemes not yet received or formulated; and, seeing that the Local Government Board has exercised its discretionary power to the prejudice of district councils in Munster in connection with the million provided under the Act of 1911, will he introduce a Clause in the present Bill to secure that schemes of cottages and allotments shall be considered and dealt wth in the order in which they are received, thus removing existing grounds of discontent?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe number of cottages proposed in schemes received by the Local Government Board from rural districts in Munster into which inquiries have not yet been ordered is 3,694. The Board do not admit that they have acted or intended to act to the prejudice of Munster in dealing with the additional million provided by the Act of 1911. This sum was supplementary to the four and a quarter millions provided by the Act of 1906, and the Board felt that in order to secure a fair and equitable allocation of the entire amount they should give priority to those districts in which comparatively few cottages had been provided, and where manifestly the needs of the labouring class more urgently called for treatment. Their efforts to secure an impartial distribution of the five and a quarter millions have been attended with satisfactory results, having regard to the fact that up to this date the amount of loans sanctioned for each province is as follows: Leinster, £1,692,091, Munster, £1,524,511; Ulster, £1,286,179; and Connaught, £410,896. The Board cannot divest themselves of the powers conferred on them by Statute, and will continue to exercise their discretion in such cases with the same object as they have had in view in relation to the million provided by the Act of 1911.