§ MR. TULLYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state the amount of the yearly grant paid to the Royal Irish Academy for the copying of Irish manuscripts and the production of an Irish dictionary; whether he can give the approximate date when an Irish dictionary will be issued by this body; and, if not, will he consider the advisability of transferring the grant to the Irish Texts Society.
§ MR. WYNDHAMNo portion of the grant in aid is ear-marked for either of the objects mentioned. But in each year a sum of more than £300, on an average, is expended on the publication of Irish Texts, the occasional purchase of Irish MSS., and the collection and arrangement of material for the production of an Irish dictionary. The collection of material is now nearly completed and its preparation 1238 for dictionary arrangement has already commenced. It is impossible to fix, even approximately, the date when the dictionary will be issued. The reply to the concluding inquiry is in the negative.
§ MR. TULLYWhy will not the right hon. Gentleman hand over this task of compiling the Irish dictionary to a more energetic body?
§ (No answer was returned.)