§ Mr. SLOANasked on what grounds the Inspector-General ordered that the children of policemen who inhabit the married houses outside the depot should, if over 18 years of age, be compelled to find sleeping accommodation elsewhere; and whether these buildings are, for all practical purposes, private dwellings entirely separate and distinct from the depot main building?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Inspector-General of the Royal Irish Constabulary informs me that the quarters provided for married members of the force stationed at the depot form part of the depot barracks. The regulations of the force empower the Inspector-General to allow children under 16 years of age to live in the barracks with their parents, and in exceptional cases this permission can be extended to children up to 18 years of age, provided the available accommodation is sufficient. This rule had not been enforced until January last, when the attention of the Inspector-General was called to the matter owing to some of the rooms in the married quarters having become overcrowded. He then directed that all children over 18 years of age should reside outside the barracks, as provided by the regulations.