§ MR. THOMAS O'DONNELLTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, seeing that the 606 House of Commons unanimously agreed on May 21st,† to certain changes in the intermediate programme for the year 1907, and that these changes created no difficulty in administration, he will explain why the Board took one month before they could give a definite reply to the matter; whether he will secure the publication of the minutes of the meeting of the Board at which this matter was discussed; and will he state which of the proposed changes causes difficulty, and in what way it does so.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) There has been no avoidable delay on the part of the Board or of the Executive in dealing with this matter. Any delay that has occurred has been due to the difficulties inherent in the case, and to the necessity of summoning members of the Board from various parts of Ireland to the meeting convened to consider the matter. It was found necessary to tike the opinion of the Law Officers as to the effect of the Resolution of the House upon the rules submitted, and His Excellency was advised that the rules as a whole had been rendered null and void by the passing of the Resolution, and that a new set of rules required to be submitted. This opinion was communicated to the Intermediate Education Board, who thought that, considering the difficulties and intricacy of the matter, they could not, within the time necessary to enable rules to become effective, frame new rules which would adequately meet the case. They have therefore submitted the rules already approved of for 1906 as rules for 1907, and these, with the formal sanction of the Lord-Lieutenant, have now been laid on the Table. The publication of the minutes of the Board would be very unusual and, in the opinion of the Government, not to the public interest, nor has the Irish Government any power to require the Board to produce the minutes of its proceedings. Even if I possessed the necessary technical acquaintance with the subject it would be impossible within the limits of an Answer to explain the difficulties which have led the Board, as they inform me, to postpone for the present year an attempt to reconstruct these rules.
§ † See (4) Debates clvii., 1072,