asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a propaganda card issued by the Ulster Unionist Council, Belfast, and widely distributed throughout the world in which it is alleged (a) that the infantile death rate in the Twenty-Six Counties is 83 per 1,000 whereas the infantile death rate in the Six Counties is 40 per 1,000 and (b) that the infantile death rate in the Twenty-Six Counties is still 75 per cent. of what it was in 1900; and, if so, if he will state what is the true position in regard to each of these allegations.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ulster Unionist Council Propaganda.
My attention has been directed to a Press cutting concerning the propaganda card to which the Deputy refers. The particulars, in so far as they purport to relate to the Twenty-Six Counties at the present time, are grossly incorrect. The rate of 83 quoted in the card for the Twenty-SixCounties relates to the year 1945 when, probably on account of emergency conditions, it reached the highest level in recent years. The rate for the Six Counties in the same year was 78.
The correct particulars are as follows: (a) in 1952 the infantile mortality rate in the Twenty-Six Counties was 41 per 1,000 births; (b) in 1952 the rate in the Six Counties was 39 per 1,000; and (c) in 1952 the Twenty-Six County rate was 39 per cent. of the level in 1900.