§ MR. CHARLES DEVLIN (Galway)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that a number of persons interested in the revival of Irish industries and anxious to provide employment for the purpose of retaining the people have started a hosiery factory in Galway; that this has now been operating successfully for some years; whether he is aware that on behalf of these persons an application was made to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Ireland to procure for the advantage of the workers in this factory the services of an instructor in the finer class of hosiery, the local county committee offering to pay half the expenses; and, seeing that this application was rejected by the Department, will he make representations to the Department to comply with this request in order to assist the effort being made in Galway to revive its industries.
MR. BRYCEI understand that the facts are substantially as stated in the Question. The Technical Instruction Committee for the Urban District of Galway recently applied to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for a special grant for the purpose mentioned. The Department were unable to accede to this application because they had already allocated to the urban district the full amount at their disposal for the purposes of technical instruction in the district. The total annual fund at the disposal of the Galway Technical Instruction Committee is, approximately, £1,000, which includes a local rate of one penny in the pound and a contribution of £680 from the Department's endowment. The Department have pointed out to the local committee that if they wish to aid the industry in question, such aid must be given from the joint fund made up of the Department's contribution and the local rate.