§ MR. O'MALLEYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he is aware that the requirements of the Irish National School programme in all subjects are as stringently exacted by some inspectors in Irish speaking localities where the pupils hardly ever hear English spoken outside the school-room, as they are in Dublin, Belfast, or other exclusively English - speaking districts; and whether he will recommend that a lower standard of answering be accepted for pass marks in Irish-speaking districts, particularly in such subjects as reading, composition, &c.
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURI have referred this question to the Commissioners of National Education, who state they believe that every reasonable allowance is made by their inspectors for any local difficulties experienced by the pupils attending the National Schools in Irish-speaking districts. The commissioners also state that it is not practicable to lay down a second standard examination in the results programme, but that any difficulty as regards reading in the few remote localities where Irish is still largely spoken is met, as far as possible, by the regulation that an explanation may be accepted in Irish if the pupil is unable to give it in English.