HC Deb 10 April 1907 vol 172 cc229-30
MR. J. MACVEAGH

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the condition of the schoolhouse at Barnmeen, county Down, and to the fact that no less than four inspectors of the National Board have reported it to be old, unsuitable, badly lighted, and imperfectly ventilated; whether he is aware that the only means of ventilation is by the door, that the window frames are decayed and will not hold the glass, that the structure is built partly of clay, and that the eyesight and general health of the children has been impaired; whether he is aware that the manager of the school, Reverend T. Gallery, P.P., has been endeavouring for years to have a new school provided near to the present school, but that the Commissioners of National Education have refused to sanction the building of a new school on the only site available in the whole district; and whether, having regard to the opinion of the people of the neighbourhood, and to the interests of the children and of education, he will advise the Board to waive its objection as to the new site being within the proscribed distance from another school.

MR. BIRRELL

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that their inspectors have reported that the existing schoolhouse at Barnmeen is unsuitable for school purposes, and the Commissioners are satisfied that steps ought to be taken to provide suitable accommodation. They are, however, precluded by their rules from making a grant, except in special circumstances, towards the erection of a new schoolhouse when there is a vested school within three miles of the proposed new school. In the present case there are two vested schools under the same manager within one and three-quarter miles of Barnmeen. In these circumstances the Commissioners have felt obliged to refuse the manager's application for a grant, and they see no sufficient reason for departing from that decision, more especially as there are a large number of cases to be dealt with and the available funds are limited.

MR. J. MACVEAGH

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this rule as to the three-mile limit has only lately been introduced? Is he aware also that there is no other site available for the school?

MR. BIRRELL

I will make inquiry.