| Act of Parliament | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
| Long title | An Act for the temporary Relief of destitute Persons in Ireland. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citation | 10 & 11 Vict. c. 7 | ||||||||
| Territorial extent | Ireland | ||||||||
| Dates | |||||||||
| Royal assent | 23 February 1847 | ||||||||
| Commencement | 23 February 1847 | ||||||||
| Repealed | 11 August 1875 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Status: Repealed | |||||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||||
The Temporary Relief Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. 7) also known as the Soup Kitchen Act was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in February 1847.
The act allowed the establishment of soup kitchens in Ireland to relieve pressure from the overstretched Poor Law system, which could not adequately feed people suffering from the Great famine. The act drew inspiration for its public–private soup kitchen programme from Skibbereen, one of the areas hardest hit by the famine during the winter of 1846–47.
