§ MR. O'MALLEY (Galway, Connemara)On behalf of the hon. Member for South Kerry. I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any opportunity will be afforded of discussing any objectionable points which may be contained in the new rules of the Irish Intermediate Board; and whether the Board will supply the Joint Committee of the Heads of Secondary Schools with copies of the new rules as soon as they are ready to be laid upon the Table of the House.
§ THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR IRELAND (Mr. T. W. RUSSELL,) Tyrone, S.Perhaps in the absence of my right hon. friend the Chief Secretary through indisposition I may answer the Questions addressed to him. The Intermediate Education Act provides the method by which the rules made by the Board and approved by the Lord Lieutenant may be reviewed, that is to say, the rules are not to become operative until they have lain before Parliament for forty days without being disallowed. The suggestion that draft rules should be promulgated for discussion by heads of schools before being adopted is, my right hon. friend is advised, quite impracticable. Upon a former occasion when the Board distributed rules which were afterwards disallowed by this House, much inconvenience arose by reason of the fact that it was found impossible to recall all the copies issued, with the result that some of the schools prepared their students upon the disallowed rules. It is understood that the Board are always ready to receive and consider suggestions which may be made to them by any body or person interested, before submitting rules for the approval of the Lord-Lieutenant.
§ MR. O'MALLEYOn behalf of the hon. Member for South Kerry, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can 1260 state if the Intermediate Board intend to make the rules stereotyped for ten years; and when the new rules will be published.
§ MR. T. W. RUSSELLI am informed that the Intermediate Board have not yet come to a conclusion upon the subject of the Question, and consequently cannot say when new rules will be published.