§ MR. T. M. HEALYTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, is it proposed by the Treasury to continue any longer to spend on the Irish model schools, in the majority of which there is a very scanty attendance of pupils, large sums of public money; have the Government considered whether this expenditure would be better devoted to the requirements of well-attended ordinary national schools; whether many 732 of the latter are much in need of general repair or reconstruction; whether several of the model school buildings could be at once advantageously transferred for the purposes of technical and industrial education to county councils and other local bodies; and will he inquire whether such bodies would be willing to maintain the fabrics.
(Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) The Report of the recent inquiry into primary education in Ireland which has been presented to Parliament, deals at some length with the Irish model schools and contains suggestions in respect of the matters mentioned in the second part of the Question. The Report is at present engaging the consideration of Government.