§ MR. MACVEAGHTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland can he state the number of vacancies in Irish national schools in principalships and in assistantships, respectively; whether he is aware that the dearth of teachers is due to the present grade salaries, and to the slowness of promotion; that a number of teachers trained at the expense of the Irish Education Vote are caking up positions in England; that many managers, in order to secure competent teachers, are under the necessity of supplementing their salaries by sums ranging from £5 to £15; and whether, in view of these facts, he will invite the Commissioners to reopen the whole question of the salaries of national teachers.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) It is not possible to state accurately the number of vacancies existing in Irish national schools at any one time. From the office records there would seem to be about thirty-eight vacancies for principals and about fifty-one vacancies for assistants at present; but when the returns are received from the managers at the end of the present month it will be found, no doubt, that most of these vacancies have been filled. There is no dearth of teachers of national schools. Owing to regulations made by the English Education Board for the recognition of the certificates of the Irish National Board some Irish teachers are obtaining employment in schools in England. On the other hand some teachers certificated in England are obtaining employment in Irish national schools. The Commissioners expect local aid to supplement the salaries of the teachers. This is an essential condition for the recognition of a school by the Board. The scale of salaries has been fixed only comparatively recently, and it is not proposed to reopen the question. It must be remembered that the average number of pupils at each Irish school is about fifty-four, and the average at each English school is about 250, and that Irish teachers cannot expect to be paid at the same rate for teaching small schools (of which there are 5,360 with 69 attendances of less than fifty pupils in Ireland) as English teachers are paid for teaching large schools of 200 children and upwards.