§ Colonel WEDGWOODasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he can form any estimate of the number of natural-born Southern Irish living in Great Britain or in the Empire at the present time?
Mr. THOMASSo far as Great Britain is concerned, I understand that the figures for the census taken in 1931 are not yet available, but that the published figures for the census taken in 1921 show that 351,813 persons enumerated in Great Britain stated that they were born in the area now forming the Irish Free State. It is not possible to make any estimate of the whole number of persons born in the Irish Free State who are living in the British Empire at the present time. In the majority of cases the published figures for the census taken in 1921 do not distinguish between persons born in the Irish Free State and in Northern Ireland; in many parts of the Empire for reasons of economy no census was taken in 1931.