§ Mr. KEATINGasked the Chief Secretary whether, as a result of the operation of Section 83 (7) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, which gives the work of the preparation of the Parliamentary voters and jurors lists to county secretaries for rural districts in which new clerks have been appointed, superintendent registrars of births and deaths are obliged to prepare lists of the deaths of all persons which take place in their districts every year for the county secretaries; whether this work has been done by such superintendent registrars without their having received any remuneration for the same; and whether, seeing that in order to prepare the said lists superintendent registrars have in many cases to attend in outside districts for the purpose of visiting registrars at their offices, he will see that proper and adequate remuneration be specified for the work and for travelling and car expenses where such expenses have to be incurred to have the lists prepared?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe answers to the first two parts of the question are in the affirmative. The question of the payment of remuneration for and of expenses incurred in connection with the duty of preparing the lists referred to, which is imposed upon superintendent registrars by rules made under the Registration (Ireland) Act, 1898, and the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, has been frequently raised, but I am advised that there is no power to authorise any such payment.