§ MR. T. M. HEALYTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Irish National Education Office refuse to pay salary to the assistant teacher of Kilkitt National School, County Monaghan, for the last two quarters of the year 1901; and whether, seeing that the Rule, viz. 206 (b), upon which this refusal is based did not appear among the rules of the Commissioners of Irish National Education till 1902, and that the average in this school was sufficiently high according to the rules of the Education Office, will he take steps to secure that the salary for these two quarters shall be paid to this teacher.
(Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) The average attendance of pupils at this school failed to reach the minimum of sixty required for payment of salary to an assistant teacher in the last two quarterly periods of 1900, and each of the four quarterly periods of 1901. Salary was, however, paid to 30th June, 1901 under the exceptional circumstances of the case—the prevalence of epidemics in the neighbourhood of the school. The refusal to pay salary for the last two quarters of 1901 was not based on Rule 206 (b) of the existing Code, but on the regulations in force at the time. Rule 206 (e) enabled the Commissioners to restore the grant to the assistant teacher from 1st January, 1902, which has been done.