asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware that since 1910-11 the nominal grant of four shillings a week in aid of the cost of maintenance of each pauper lunatic paid to County Councils out of State funds, under the provisions of Section 58 (2) (c) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, has been abated, owing to the income of the fund out of which such grants are paid being insufficient to meet the claims in full, and, if so, if he will state (a) what proportion the recoupments made during 1925-26 in respect of the preceding year 1924-25 bear to the total claims; (b) what was the average weekly cost of maintenance of a pauper lunatic in the combined Irish asylums during 1908-9, and what weekly sum was recouped to the County Councils during the subsequent year out of State funds in respect of each such pauper lunatic; what proportion did the sum recouped bear to the total cost of maintenance; (c) what was the average weekly cost of maintenance of a pauper lunatic in the combined mental hospitals of the Saorstát during 1924-25, and what weekly sum was recouped to the County Councils during 1925-26 out of State funds in respect of each such pauper lunatic; what proportion did the sum recouped bear to the total cost of maintenance; (d) what proportion of the total income during 1924-25 of the fund out of which pauper lunatic grants are payable was represented by the proceeds of publicans' licences; and (e) whether a reduction in the number of publicans' licences throughout the Saorstát will increase the amount of the poor rate leviable by each County Council by reducing the income of the fund out of which the various grants to County Councils specified in Section 58 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, are paid.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. - ORAL ANSWERS. MAINTENANCE COST OF PAUPER LUNATICS.
The reply to this question is a very long one and perhaps the Deputy would be satisfied if I were to send him a copy of it and also have it published in the Official Report.
Mr. BYRNE
I am quite satisfied.
Following is the reply:—The sums payable to the County Borough Councils out of the Local Taxation Account under Section 58 (2) (c) of the Local Government Act, 1898, in respect of patients in mental hospitals have, since the financial year 1910-11, been proportionately abated in pursuance of the provisions of Section 58 (5) of the Act, as the amount paid to the Local Taxation Account under Section 58 (1) of the Act has been insufficient to meet the sums payable thereout.
(a) The total claims in respect of the year 1924-25 amounted to £158,467 19s. 3d. The total payments amounted to £130,060 8s. 10d. or 82.07365 per cent. of the claims.
(b) The average weekly cost of maintenance per patient in the combined Irish district asylums during 1908-9 was 8s. 11d. The weekly sum recouped to the County Councils for each patient in a district asylum for whom the net charge upon the Council (after deducting any amount received by them for maintenance from any other sources other than poor rate) was equal to or exceeded 4s. a week throughout the period of maintenance for which the sum was calculated was a sum of one-half of such net charge or 4s., whichever was the least (see Section 58 (2) (c) of the Act of 1898). In the case of a patient in respect of whom the maximum grant of 4s. was paid this was 44.9 per cent. of the average weekly cost, and generally speaking the maximum grant was payable.
(c) The average weekly cost of maintenance in the combined district mental hospitals of the Saorstát during 1924-25 was 19s. 7d. The grant was calculated in the manner described above on the basis of a maximum of 4s., but the total sum payable to each Council was, as already stated, abated to 82.07365 per cent. in pursuance of Section 58 (5) of the Act. In the case of a patient in respect of whom the maximum grant was paid, the grant, after abatement, was equivalent to 16.8 per cent. of the average weekly cost.
(d) The amounts payable to the Local Taxation Account in respect of the duties on licences for the sale of intoxicating liquor were standardised under the Finance (1909-10) Act 1910, and were made equal to the proceeds of those duties in 1908-9. The amount for the whole of Ireland for that year was £166,197 and the amount proper to the Saorstát has been determined by Order under Section 9 of the Adaptation of Enactments Act, 1922, to be £119,449 19s. 10d. The total net income of the grant for 1925-26 (out of which the grant towards the maintenance of 1924-25 mental hospital patients was paid) amounted to £206,161 8s. 6d. The proceeds of publicans' licences, being a fixed sum of £119,449 19s. 10d. for the purposes of the Licence Duty Grant, represents 57.9 per cent. of the total grant.
(e) As the amount payable to the Local Taxation Account in respect of the duties on licences for the sale of intoxicating liquor has since the passage of the Finance Act, 1910, been a fixed sum of £166,197 for the whole of Ireland and for the Saorstát £119,449 19s. 10d., there is clearly no question of a reduction in the number of publicans' licences throughout the Saorstát reducing the income of the licence duty grant payable to County and County Borough Councils under Section 58 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898.