I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the fact that the three superior officers of the Royal Irish Constabulary stationed at Moville—namely, the district inspector, head constable, and senior sergeant—are Protestants although Moville is a place where over three-quarters of the population are Roman Catholics; and, seeing that some time ago complaint was made to the Inspector General by the parish priest of Moville asking to have this remedied, whether the promise then made by him would now be carried out so that some at least of the senior officers who are Protestants be removed and their places filled by Roman Catholics.
The facts are as stated in the first paragraph. No promise was made by the Inspector General to the parish priest of Moville to the effect mentioned. I understand, however, that the senior sergeant, who is a Protestant, is about to be transferred to another station, and that he will be replaced by a Roman Catholic sergeant.