§ Major NEWMANasked the Minister of Munitions who is responsible for recommending Mrs. Culhane, sister of Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington, for the post of welfare superintendent at the National Shell Factory, Dublin; whether Mrs. Culhane had been at any previous time employed at similar work, and what are her qualifications for a post which involves dealing with numbers of working women; whether Mrs. Culhane has recommended the dismissal of the voluntary workers who, since the establishment of the factory, had managed the munitions canteen; whether the wages of the paid workers who have taken the place of the volunteers will be added to the cost of the food; and whether the change has already resulted in an increased tariff?
§ Sir W. EVANSThe reply to the first two parts of the question is that Mrs. Culhane was recommended by the official Board of Management of the Dublin National Shell Factory, and her appointment was approved by the Ministry. Mrs. Culhane had previous to her appointment taken part in social welfare work.
The reply to the last three parts of the question is in the negative. It was not Mrs. Culhane but the official Board of Management that recommended that the canteen at the factory should, in accordance with the usual practice now prevailing, be carried on by paid workers. It is not the fact that the cost of food has been increased by the expense of the wages of the paid workers; but, on the contrary, it is anticipated that, as the result of the increase of custom which has come to the canteen since the change, and of the economies in management which have been effected, the cost of wages will be more than recouped. It is, further, not the fact that any increase in the tariff has been charged since the change was made.