asked the Minister for Finance whether he is aware that the employees of the Bourne Vincent Memorial Park, Killarney, County Kerry, are still in receipt of only £2 18s. 4d. per week, while forestry workers beside them in Muckross, Killarney, are now receiving £3 6s. 0d. per week; and if, in view of these circumstances, and the fact that the cost of living in a tourist resort such as Killarney is out of all proportion to the cost of living in other rural areas, he will consider bringing the wage rates of the Bourne Vincent Memorial Park employees to a level comparable to their fellow-workers in the adjoining forestry station.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Bourne Vincent Memorial Park Employees.
So far as labourers are concerned, the answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative.
The rate of £2 18s. 4d. per week is, as the Deputy will be aware, the minimum rate currently payable to agricultural workers in the Killarney area. That rate is regarded as appropriate for labourers employed at the Bourne Vincent Memorial Park and, consequently, the answer to the second part of the question is in the negative.