§ Mr. FIELDasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that the revision of the rates of pay of warders and others in the service of the General Prisons 987W Board made in 1908 was regarded as unsatisfactory as it only applied to men with very long service; whether he is aware that the Irish scale of wages is considerably lower than what is paid in Great Britain although the duties are similar; and whether, in view of the general rise of wages granted by the Government and private employers and the dissatisfaction of the warders, he will reconsider this matter?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe hon. Member is, I am informed, under a misapprehension as regards the statement made in the first part of the question. The main feature of the changes made in 1908 was an immediate improvement in the pay of ordinary warders, the minimum annual rate being raised from £50 to £52, the maximum from £60 to £70, and existing officers being placed upon the new scale at such salaries as they would have been receiving had they been originally appointed thereunder. With regard to the second and third parts of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on the 15th ultimo to the question of the hon. Member for North Westmeath on this subject.