§ MR. SLOAN (Belfast, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland how long Waveney School, Ballymena, was in operation before objection was made to its application for aid upon the ground that the temporary premises were unsuitable and insanitary; and what was the nature of the sub-inspector's report upon the condition of the school premises.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) The school was opened on August 1st, 1903. The Commissioners' objection to granting aid has from the outset been that the school is not required in the locality. It was not until March, 1905, that, in replying to an application for temporary aid, the Commissioners referred to the unsuitable and insanitary nature of the premises, and then the reference was merely incidental, and was added to a reiteration of the primary objection, namely, that the school was unnecessary. The inspector who reported against the application on the ground that the school was unnecessary, stated in addition that one of the rooms was only 19 feet long by 8½ feet wide, that the house was a temporary one, and that two of the walls were roughly plastered and washed with colour, while the others were boarded.