§ MR. DILLONI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the fact that the Commissioners of National Education are precluded from applying for grants in many urgent eases where schools are required, because the scale of accommodation and the Estimates on which grants can be made have not yet been fixed by the Treasury; and whether he will press this consideration on the attention of the Treasury and represent to that Department that until they have settled the new plans their permission to the Board to report urgent cases is to a large extent illusory.
MR. BRYCEI am aware that the Commissioners of National Education consider that it is not desirable to avail themselves of the permission to represent specially urgent cases for consideration and for individual decision on the 378 points of plans, floor space per scholar, and the rate of grant; but prefer to await the settlement of these points as regards all future cases. The Treasury are already fully apprised of my view that it is most desirable that those questions should be finally disposed of at the earliest possible moment, so that the building of school houses, which has been interrupted for a considerable time, may be resumed forthwith. Correspondence on the subject is passing between the Irish Government and the Treasury.