To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Local Government Board has charged the electoral division with the expense of the Portmagee waterworks, whilst in the case of Caherciveen waterworks, in the same district council area, the charge has been made a union charge, and can he explain why in the case of Portmagee the money is payable in twenty years at 7 per cent., whereas in the case of Caherciveen it is payable in fifty years at 3¾ per cent., and whether, seeing that the rural district council has applied for an extension of time, from twenty to fifty years, for repayment as regards the Portmagee scheme, he will see that equal treatment is given to these two schemes. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Local Government Board have made orders fixing the district electoral division as the area of charge for the Portmagee waterworks, and the rural district as the area of charge for the Caherciveen waterworks. In the former case the rural council would only agree to the district electoral division as the area of charge, and the resolution of the council requesting the Board to fix this area was proposed by the councillor representing the electoral division. A large proportion of the expenditure had been guaranteed from outside sources and, as the amount falling on the rates would not in consequence press unduly on the ratepayers in the electoral division, the Board did not feel warranted in withholding their approval of the area desired by the local authority. In the Caherciveen case the area was fixed as the rural district, with the consent of the rural district council. The loan for the Portmagee waterworks is repayable in twenty years with interest at 3½ per cont. per annum, and the period for repayment for the Caherciveen scheme is thirty years, and the interest 3¾ per cent. The periods in both cases were fixed by the Board after due consideration of the character and durability of the works. No application has been made to the Board for extension of the period in the Portmagee case.