asked the Minister for Finance if it is a fact that a grant of £75,000 was made by the British Government in 1914 to finance experiments on tobacco growing from 1914 to 1923; whether the unexpended portion of this grant was handed over by the British Government, and, if so, what was the amount thereof, and how was it subsequently accounted for.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tobacco Growing in Ireland.
The maximum amount of the grants authorised to be made out of the Development Fund for tobacco-growing experiments during 1914-1923 was £70,000, not £75,000. The Free State share of the Development Fund paid over by the Development Commissioners after the change of Government included £30,355 in respect of unexpended grants for these experiments, and this sum was paid into the Exchequer during the year 1926-27.