asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that a number of prison officers who have completed twenty-five years' service and upwards have been passed over and junior officers appointed to higher places; and whether he will have this complaint inquired into with a view to rectification?

The officers who have been promoted in rank since the introduction of the new scheme for the Irish prisons service have been selected by the General Prisons Board after full inquiry. Length of service cannot be accepted by the Board as the sole qualification for promotion.

asked when the lodgings allowance granted to Irish prison officers in June, 1916, will be forthcoming; and whether the amount so paid will be retrospective from 1st April, 1916, when the new scheme came into operation?

This matter will, I believe, be decided in the course of a few days.