§ Mr. CRUMLEYasked the Chief Secretary if he can state the cause of the delay in the erection of labourers' cottages in Enniskillen union, county Fermanagh; and, considering that a contract for build- 1671W ing sixty cottages was given some time ago to a contractor and that only eight of these cottages have been completed within the stipulated time, and as some differences exist between the engineer and the contractor, whether the Local Government Board will intervene and have the work carried out at the engineer's and contractor's expense in the interests of the labourers who have to continue to reside in hovels, some of which have already been condemned as unfit for human habitation?
§ Mr. BIRRELLAs regards the first paragraph of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a question asked on the 22nd November last by the hon. Member for North Fermanagh. It is not the practice of the Local Government Board to interfere in local disputes of this nature, but it is for the Enniskillen Rural District Council themselves to take action with a view to terminating the differences which have arisen between their architect and the contractors. The Council at their last meeting on the 17th instant, after discussing the delay, decided to refer the matter to their solicitor for advice as to the steps they should take with a view to expediting building operations.