§ MR. LIDDELL (Down, W.)I bog to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what proportion of children in Ireland attend elementary schools on the average of two-and-a-half, three and four hours per day, respectively.
MR. BRYCEI am informed by the Commissioners of National Education that they have no sufficient information nor could exact statistics be obtained of the number of children in national schools who attend, on the average, two-and-a-half, three and four hours daily, respectively. Senior pupils should under the rules receive at least three-and-a-half hours secular instruction daily, for five days in the week; and junior pupils, that is, pupils under eight years of age, should receive two-and-a-half hours instruction. This rule does not apply to "half-time" pupils, of whom there were 1,675 when the latest Return was prepared.